[*      MAY  SO  1911     ♦] 


OUR    GRAND    OLD    BIBLE 


OUR    GRAND    OLD 
BIBLE 


BEING  THE  STORY  OF  THE 
AUTHORIZED  VERSION  OF  THE 
ENGLISH  BIBLE,  TOLD  FOR  THE 
TERCENTENARY  CELEBRATION 


V 


MAY  'M)  191 


WILLIAM   MUIR,  M.A.,  B.D.,  B.L. 

AUTHOR  OF 

"THE    CALL  OF  THE  NEW  EKA  " 

ETC. 


Second  Edition 


FLEMING   H.    REVELL    COMPANY 

NEW    YORK  MCMXI  CHICAGO 


First  Edition  .      5th  January  igii 

Second  Edition  .       .      ist  March      igii 


TO  THREE  GOOD  WOMEN, 

BIBLE  LOVERS  AND   BIBLE  READERS, 

MY  MOTHER,   MY  SISTER,   AND   MY  WIFE 


BY   THE   SAME  AUTHOR 

THE  CALL  OF  THE  NEW  ERA: 

Its  Opportunities  and  Responsibilities.     With 
Prefatory  Note  by  Dr.  George  Smith,  CLE. 

Being  a  Volume  in  Morgan  &  Scott's  Missionary  Series. 
Cloth,  6s. 

'  It  is  the  call  to  the  Christian  Church  to  arise  with '  new  energy, 
thoughtfulness,  and  unity  to  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  One  could 
scarcely  find  a  better  conspectus  of  what  has  already  been  done  in 
missionary  work  from  the  earliest  times  up  to  the  present,  and  of  what 
we  are  now  called  to  do,  than  in  this  volume.' — Dundee  Advertiser. 

'  The  book  will  inspire  with  a  new  devotion  many  who  above  all  else 
desire  to  witness  and  work  for  Christ  in  the  short  and  swiftly  passing 
day  of  individual  opportunity.' — The  Christian. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  ^'*^* 

INTRO  D  UCTION 

The  river  of  God — Ancient  manuscripts  atid  versions 
—  What  we  owe  to  the  Authorized  Version — Many 
have  contributed  to  our  inheritance — Authorized 
Version  and  Revised  Version  may  be  used  side  by 
side — Bible  never  works  by  magic — Authorized 
Version  more  like  an  original  work  than  a  trans- 
lation— The  Revisers'  tribute — Bible  given  to  be 
translated    ........  1-9 


BOOK  I 

The  Bnglish  Bible  prior  to  the  Authorized 
Version 

I.  TRANSLATION'S   OF   THE   PSALTER  AND 
OTHER  PORTIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE 

Caednion's  Paraphrases — Ealdhelm,  Guthlac,  Egbert, 
^Ifric — TJie  Venerable  Bede — King  Alfred- 
Effects  of  Norman  Conquest — Rome  atid  the 
Scriptures —  William  of  Shoreham,  Richard  Rolle 
— John  of  Trevisa  —  Sir  Thomas  More  and 
Wiclif — Lechler's  summing-up        .         .         .         .11-20 

//.  THE  MORNING  STAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH 
REFORMATION 

Wiclif  ^s  greatness — His  ififluence  vaster  than  was 
supposed — His  career — His  translation — Nicholas 
of  Hereford ;  John  Purvey — Translated  from 
Vulgate — Influence  on  the  lafiguage — First  to 
translate  the  whole  Bible  into  English       .         .     21-29 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

III.  THE   COMING  OF  THE  PRINTING-PRESS 
AND  THE  NE  W  LEARNING 

The  immense  change  printing  made — Consecrated  to 
God^s  service — Caxton  and  the  '  Golden  Legend' — 
Fall  of  Constantinople  scattering  scholars — Erasmus 
and  his  Greek  New  Testatnent —  What  it  meant  for 
Ty?idale — Complute.isian  Polyglot  .         .     31-39 


IV.  GOD'S   WORD  FOR   THE  PLOUGHS OY 

Our  great  debt  to  Tyndale — Many  testimonies — 
Modern  Romanists  and  Scripture — New  spirit 
abroad — Tyndale  as  translator — His  New  Testa- 
ment reaches  England^  1526 — His  scholarship — 
The  success  of  his  work       .         .         .         .         .41-50 


V.  A   RUSH  OF  TRANSLATIONS 

Coverdale's  Bible  —  Matthew's  —  Taverner's  —  The 
Great  Bible — The  Geneva  Bible — The  Bishops' 
Bible — Roman  Catholic  Bible       .         .         .         '51-59 


VI  THE      BIBLE      IN      PRE-REFORMATION 
SCOTLAND 

Wiclif's  Influence  in  Scotland — Scottish  Bishops  and 
Tyndale' s  New  Testament — -John  Knox ;  Alesius — 
Mtirdoch  Nisbet's  Scots  version — TJie  first  Scottish 
edition  ........     61-67 


VII.  ON  THE  EVE   OF  THE  NEW  VERSION 

The   five   revisions   of  Tyndale' s   work — The    three 
versions  in  use — T/ie  desire  for  one  national  Bible     69-73 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAP.  PAGE 

BOOK  11 
The  Coming  of  the  Authorized  Version 

I.  KING  /AMES'S  SHARE  IN  THE    WORK 

The  expectations  of  the  Purita7is — Hampton  Court 
Conference — Dr.  Reynolds's  proposal — King  James 
and  Geneva  version —  His  deep  interest  in  the  work 
— -James's  character — His  shortsightedness — The 
fulsome  Dedication — Sycophancy  of  the  age — 
Puritans  not  responsible  for  Dedication        .         .     7  5-84 

//.  THE   TRANSLATORS 

King's  letter  to  Bancroft — Expense  of  translation — 
The  six  Companies — The  qualifications  of  the  Trans- 
lators— Their  diligence  ......     85-92 

///.  THEIR  INSTRUCTIONS  AND  HOW  THEY 
UNDERSTOOD   THEM 

The  fourteen  rules — Influence  of  Rheims  and  Geneva 
versions — Proper  names — The  archaic  element — 
Marginal  notes  disallowed — Marginal  references — 
Provision  for  joi?it  action  and  revision — The 
translations  which  were  to  be  used       .         .         .   93-106 

IF.  THE   TRANSLATORS'  PREFACE 

A  great  historical  paper — The  inevitable  opposition — 
Their  tribute  to  Scripture — Ancient  versions — The 
Romish  attitude — Objections  dealt  with — The  Trans- 
lators' purpose  and  ideal — Marginal  notes  explained 
— Rendering  same  words  in  original  by  different 
English  words  — '  Scrupulosity  of  Puritans^ 
^Obscurity  of  Papists'  alike  shunned     .         .         1 07-1 21 

V.  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

Glorious  within  and  without — '  He  '  and  '  She ' 
Bibles  —  Unauthorized    revisions  —  The    Crown 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

monopoly — Patentees  in  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland — Full  title  of  first  issue — Marginal  notes 
and  references — Chapter  headings  and  Italics — 
Testimonies:  Huxley — Ruskin,  Carlyle,  A  If  or d — 
Westcott,  Faber — Geddes,  Eadie — The  purity  of 
its  English — The  great  day  of  its  appearance — 
Wherein  defective  .         .         .         .         .         123-136 


VL  IN  WHAT  SENSE  WAS  THE  AUTHORIZED 
VERSION  A  UTHORIZED  ? 

Position  of  earlier  versions — King  Jameses  programme 
— Claim  of  virtual  authorization — Only  authority  its 
own  intrinsic  merits  a?id  superiority — The  -absence 
of  authorization  not  regrettable        .         .         .         137-142 


VII  THE  APOCRYPHA 

Little  known — Coverdale's  attitude — Matthew's  atti- 
tude, afid  Getievan — Dislike  to  its  inclusion  appears 
— Disappearance  from  Gefievan  Bible — Bimyanh 
experience — Controversy  in  Scotland —  Value  of 
Apocrypha — Attitude  of  Council  of  Trent — And  of 
Church  of  England 143-150 


BOOK  III 

Three  Centuries  of  Service 

I  HOW  THE  NEW  VERSION  HAD  TO  WORK 
ITS  WAY 

Made  its  way  slowly  for  a  time — Savoy  Conference, 
1 66 1 — Bitterness  of  some  opponents — So  also  in 
Jerome^s  time — Its  unrivalled  supremacy — Its  pro- 
gress in  Scotland  ......  1 51-158 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAP  PACE 

IL  AT   WORK  IN  THE  HOME 

Mr.  Greenes  testimony — The  Family  Bible — '  Cottar's 
Saturday  Night ' — Its  meaning  for  the  young — A7id 
for  the  sad  and  dying — Newman's  testimony — 
Oliver  CromweWs  experience  .         .         .         159-166 


///.  AT       WORK      IN      CONNECTION      WITH 
THE    CHURCH 

Bible  speaks  every  language  of  human  heart — Bunyan 
and  the  Bible — '■Bible-moths^^  ''New  Testa- 
menters^ — Bible   and  Revivals — Bible   Societies     167-174 


IV.  AT    WORK   IN  THE    NATION  AND    l^HE 
STATE 

Only  perennial  voters'  guide —  What  it  did  for  Puritans 
— Oliver  Cromzmll  and  the  Bible — -James  II.  and 
the  Bible — Bible  and  freedom — Newman  on  Bible 
and  character — Bible  and  philanthropy    .         .         175-184 


F.  INFLUENCE  ON  ENGLISH  LITERATURE 
AND   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 

The  Bible  is  literature  at  its  best — Testimony  of 
experts — In  Greater  Britain — Testimonies  :  Arnold 
— Landor,  Swift,  Scott — Johnson,  Froude,  Mac- 
aulay  .  .......         185-192 

VI.  SOME   FAMOUS  EDITIONS   OF   THE  AU- 
THORIZED   VERSION 

Cambridge  editions  <?/"  1629  and  1638 — Cambridge 
Paragraph  Bible  —  Variorum  Bible  —  Bagster's 
editions — The  Oxford  University  Press  editions — 
Bishop  Lloyd's  London  edition  ofi'jci  — Dr.  Paris^s 
Cambridge  edition  of  1762 — Dr.  Blayney's  Oxford 
edition  of  i^^f)  .....         193-J98 


xii  CONTENTS 

BOOK  IV 
The  Revision  of  the  Authorized  Version 

CHAP  PAGE 

I.   UNAUTHORIZED  REVISIONS 

Going  on  from  the  very  first — Sometimes  foolish —  Yet 
much  good  work  was  thus  done — Much  carelessness 
and  many  blunders — Importance  of  some  of  the 
changes  made         ......         199-205 

//.  INCEPTION  AND  PREPARATION  OF  THE 
REVISED   VERSION 

Growing  desire  for  revision  throughout  nineteenth  cen- 
tury— Two  Companies  of  Revisers  appointed — Non- 
conformists and  Scotland  represented — American 
co-operation — Arguments  for  revision — Nature  of 
changes  made         ......         207-214 

///  RECEPTION  AND  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER 

Great  interest  in  its  appearance— Reception  very 
mixed — Supremacy  of  Authorized  Version  not 
seriously  affected — Expectations  not  realized —  Yet 
it  has  its  place  and  value — Objections  of  some 
scholars         .......         215-221 

IV.  AMERICA  AND  THE  WORK  OF  REVISION 

Early  revision  movement — America  and  Revised  Ver- 
sion—  The  American  Revised  Edition  of  igoi  223-227 


CONCLUSION 

An  inspiring  story — Consecrated  scholars  and  trades- 
man— No  change  has  affected  the  record  of  the  reve- 
lation of  grace — Bible  made  to  be  translated — The 
Bible  itself  must  be  read — Significance  of  un- 
diminished sale  of  the  Bible — A  nation  without 
the  Bible — The  Bible  responds  to  every  new  need 
of  men  ...  ....  229-238 

INDEX 239-242 


INTRODUCTION 


The  law  of  the  LoRD  is  perfect,  concerting  the  soul : 
the  testimony  of  the  LoRD  is  sure,  making  wise  the 
simple. 

The  statutes  of  the  LoRD  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart : 
the  commandment  of  the  LoRD  is  pure,  enlightening  the 
eyes. 

The  fear  of  the  LoRD  is  clean,  enduring  for  ever : 
the  judgments  of  the  LoRD  are  true  and  righteous 
altogether. 

More  to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  ^ea,  than  much 
fine  gold  :  sweeter  also  than  hcney  and  the  honeycomb. 

Moreover  by  them  is  Thy  servant  roamed :  and  in 
keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward. 

Who  can  understand  his  errors  ?  cleanse  Thou  me 
from  secret  faults. 

Keep  back  Thy  servant  also  from  presumptuous  sins  ; 
let  them  not  have  dominion  over  me  :  then  shall  I  be 
upright,  and  I  shall  be  innocent  from  the  great  trans- 
gression. 

Let  the  voords  of  my  mouth,  and  the  meditation  of  my 
heart,  be  acceptable  in  Thy  sight,  O  LoRD,  my  strength, 
and  my  redeemer. 

Psalm  19.  7-14. 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  story  of  the  English  Bible  has  often  been 
written,  and  well -written  ;  with  sympathy  and  in- 
sight, that  is,  as  well  as  with  knowledge.  In  what  follows 
here  it  is  told  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Tercentenary  of 
the  Authorized  Version,  which  has  now  pursued  its  blessed 
and  fruitful  career  for  three  hundred  years.  What  went 
before  it  came,  is  dealt  with  only  in  so  far  as  that  is 
necessary  to  trace  back  to  its  sources  this  river  of  God 
which  is  full  of  water,  and  which  has  been  bringing 
beauty  and  fertility  wherever  it  has  flowed.  .What  has 
happened  since  it  came,  is  dealt  with  only  in  so  far 
as  that  is  necessary  in  order  to  see  how  much  has  grown 
out  of  this  wonderful  version,  which  is  the  English  Bible 
rather  than  an  English  version,  as  it  has  pursued  its 
unique  course  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
men.  For  its  natural  strength  is  not  abated  ;  nor  has 
its  fascination  grown  less  as  the  years  have  gone  by. 
Inviting  as  the  theme  is,  nothing  has  been  said 
regarding  the  ancient  versions  and  manuscripts  which 
lie  behind  our  English  translation  ;  and  which,  in  an 
altogether  adequate  manner,  fill  up  the  gap  between  the 
Bible  as  we  have  it  now  and  the  original  autographs 
which  have  long  since  disappeared.  There  is  no  trans- 
lated classic  which  has  such  a  wealth  of  manuscript 
authority  behind  it  as  the  Bible  ;  and  those  who  speak 
as  if  the  existence  of  various  readings,  and  the  iike, 
left  us  in  any  real  doubt  as  to  what  the  message  of 
Scripture  is  in  any  detail,  to  say  nothing  of  its  message 
in  its  outstanding  doctrines,  must  be  strangely  ignorant 
of   the    facts    of    the   case,    or    weirdly    biassed    against 

3 


4  INTRODUCTION 

the  Evangel.  Even  apart  from  the  manuscripts  and 
versions  which  are  so  abundant  and  helpful,  the  early 
Christian  Fathers  made  such  liberal  use  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  their  writings,  that  if  everything  else  were  lost 
which  comes  to  us  from  other  sources,  the  greater  part 
of  the  Bible  could  be  recovered  from  their  works.  In 
particular,  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  except  a 
few  verses,  is  quoted  by  them  in  one  passage  or 
another. 

The  English-speaking  peoples  everywhere  owe  so  much 
to  the  English  Bible — and  especially  to  that  version  of 
it  which  for  well-nigh  three  centuries  was  the  only  version 
read — that  it  would  be  both  unseemly  and  ungrateful 
were  no  adequate  notice  taken  of  the  Tercentenary  of 
its  appearance  in  the  land,  as  a  great  gift  of  God  to 
the  nation.  All  through  these  three  hundred  years  it 
has  been  spreading  light  and  life  and  liberty  ;  and 
there  must  be  multitudes  who  are  eager  to  acknowledge 
their  vast  indebtedness  to  it.  It  has  comforted  the 
sorrowing  and  cheered  the  downcast.  It  has  guided  the 
perplexed  and  strengthened  those  who  were  ready  to 
perish.  It  has  interpreted  the  deepest  emotions  of  the 
believer  and  increased  his  gladness.  It  has  led  the 
sinful  and  erring  back  to  God.  And  still  there  are 
inexhaustible  depths  of  comfort  and  inspiration  and 
growth,  for  those  who  explore  the  riches  of  its  treasury. 

In  the  vision  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  the  river  from 
the  Temple,  which  grew  without  tributaries,  flowed  east- 
ward to  the  Desert  and  the  Dead  Sea  ;  and  by  the  same 
law  of  spiritual  gravitation  which  prevails  in  the  realm 
of  the  consecrated  life,  this  other  river  of  living  water 
from  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  has  always 
flowed  down  to  the  wilderness,  and  has  enriched  the 
lives  of  the  needy  and  poor.  Its  work,  too,  has  been 
to  make  all  the  land  as  if  it  were  beside  an  Engedi  ;  to 
render  the  repulsive  attractive  and  the  sordid  fair  ;  to 
turn  the  barren  places  into  the  garden  of  the  Lord  ; 
and  to  make  the  Dead  Sea  teem  with  life,  even  as  the 
Great  Sea.  *  Everything  shall  live  whither  the  river 
'  cometh .' 

It    is   well,   therefore,    that   those   whom   this    river — 


THE  SOURCES  OF  THE  RIVER  S 

long  since  too  deep  except  for  those  who  can  swim — 
has  so  greatly  blessed,  should  walk  beside  its  banks 
that  they  may  see  how  marvellously  God  has  led  His 
people,  and  what  great  things  He  has  done  for  them. 
If  our  celebration  of  the  Tercentenary  is  to  be  worthy 
of  such  an  occasion,  there  must  not  only  be  emotion, 
but  research  ;  and  the  fuller  the  knowledge  is  of  what 
God  has  wrought,  the  more  profound  will  the  gratitude 
be.  If  we  are  to  possess  the  whole  land,  and  give  thanks 
with  intelligence,  it  is  both  natural  and  obvious  that 
we  should  deal,  first,  with  the  sources  of  the  river  as  they 
are  to  be  found  in  previous  English  versions,  whether 
partial  or  complete  ;  that  we  should  then  consider  with 
greater  detail  how  the  river  itself  arose  ;  and,  finally, 
that  we  should  look  at  it  as  it  has  flowed  down  through 
the  ages  ever  since,  in  splendour  and  majesty.  To  that 
threefold  division  there  may  well  be  added,  as  supple- 
ment, some  reference  to  the  Revised  Version  of  our 
own  time,  which  will  at  least  do  epoch-making  service 
in  hearty  co-operation  with  the  Authorized  Version,  how- 
ever unlikely  it  seems  that  it  will  ever  displace  it  in 
popular  esteem  or  popular  use. 

More  than  any  of  our  predecessors  we  can  say  that 
*  others  have  laboured,  and  we  have  entered  into  their 
'  labours  '  ;  and  we  shall  best  show  our  gratitude  to 
the  Authorized  Version,  and  our  loyalty  for  all  it  has 
achieved,  by  entering  into  the  whole  of  the  vast  inheri- 
tance it  has  brought  us .  No  true  friend  of  the  Authorized 
Version  ever  claimed  finality  for  it,  any  more  than  finality 
can  be  claimed  for  the  Revised  Version,  or  any  other. 
That  the  Authorized  Version  may  continue  to  be  the 
English  Bible  to  the  end  of  time,  and  must  always  be 
an  object  of  wonder  and  delight,  can  in  no  way  interfere 
with  the  Christian  duty  and  privilege  of  welcoming  light 
whenever  it  breaks  forth,  or  in  whatever  way  it  may 
come  ;  since  all  light  is  of  God,  and  belongs  to  those 
who  are  His  heirs.  It  is  the  strong  and  confident  who 
are  truly  tolerant  and  open-eyed,  and  hospitable  to  the 
ever-deepening  revelation. 

Many  saints  of  God  have  contributed  to  the  noble 
inheritance  in  which  we  now  rejoice  ;  many  whose  names 


6  INTRODUCTION 

have  perished  although  their  work  endures,  and  the  list 
is  still  unfinished.  To  the  roll-call  of  fame  on  which 
such  names  appear  as  those  of  Caedmon  and  Bede  ; 
Alfred  and  Rolle  ;  Wiclif  and  Purvey  ;  Tyndale  and 
Coverdale  ;  Cromwell  and  Cranmer  ;  Rogers  and  Whit- 
tingham  ;  Reynolds  and  Andrewes  ;  Savile  and  Hard- 
ing :  there  fall  to  be  added  in  our  own  generation  such 
names  as  those  of  Alford  and  Westcott  ;  Hort  and 
Scrivener  ;  Davidson  and  Perowne  ;  and  other  scholars 
who  have  had  open  eyes  on  all  study  and  research,  and 
hospitable  hearts  for  all  truth,  and  have  kept  Biblical 
learning  in  our  land  abreast  of  all  the  discoveries  and 
progress  of  modern  times.  Those  who  deem  it  necessary 
to  depreciate  the  Authorized  Version  in  the  interests 
of  the  Revised  are  shortsighted  and  circumscribed  ;  while 
those  who  think  that  loyalty  to  the  Authorized  Version 
demands  hostility  to  the  Revised  are  failing  in  their 
loyalty  to  Him  who  is  ever  causing  new  light  to  break 
forth  for  those  who  have  the  eyes  to  see  it  and  the  hearts 
to  appreciate   it. 

Perhaps  the  best  form  which  the  popular  use  of  either 
of  the  versions  can  now  assume,  is  that  the  two  should 
be  used  side  by  side,  at  least  for  private  study.  This  can 
now  be  literally  done,  either  with  the  two  in  parallel 
columns  as  they  can  be  had  in  convenient  forms, 
or  in  interlinear  editions  such  as  are  now  also  in  use. 
To  compare  the  two  versions,  to  trace  the  changes  which 
have  been  made  in  the  later  version,  and  to  under- 
stand why  they  were  made,  is  to  know  the  Scriptures 
themselves  after  a  new  fashion  ;  and  manifestly  the 
purpose  of  every  translation  is  to  enable  those  who  read 
it  to  do  this,  and  thus  to  bring  them  face  to  face 
with  the  real  meaning  of  what  God  the  Self-revealer 
has  spoken  to  men  in  His  Word.  This  mode  of  com- 
paring Scripture  with  Scripture  often  provides  the  most 
helpful  of  all  textual  commentaries,  and  brings  the 
reader   nearest  to  the  truth. 

Those  alone  have  the  true  reverence  for  Scripture, 
or  true  faith  in  its  message,  who  seek  always  and  every- 
where to  hear  what  God  has  said,  and  to  be  obedient 
to  the  heavenly  vision.      *  Its  seed  is  in  itself,'   as  the 


THE   REVELATION  OF  GOD  7 

Word  itself  has  it  in  another  connection  ;  and  those 
who  really  trust  in  it  to  do  its  own  Divine,  saving, 
keeping  work,  will  never  yield  to  that  worship  of  the 
external  which  reaches  its  climax  in  those  who  worship 
the  letter,  and  make  a  fetish  of  the  Book  itself,  apart 
from  what  it  says.  Nor  will  they  ever  think  of  it 
as  ^f  it  acted  mechanically,  as  a  sort  of  charm. 
Marvellous  as  its  fruits  have  been,  alike  in  individual 
lives  and  among  the  nations,  it  never  works  by  magic, 
but  always  on  moral  and  spiritual  lines .  *  The  Spirit 
'  breathes  upon  the  Word,  and  brings  the  truth  to  sight.' 
Little  as  God  needs  our  learning.  He  has  even  less 
need  of  our  ignorance  ;  and  those  alone  are  truly  loyal, 
either  to  the  old  version  or  the  new,  who  use  every 
means  in  their  power  to  get  at  the  very  heart  of  the 
revelation  of  God  in  Christ,  as  it  is  contained  for  us 
in   His   Holy   Word. 

It  is  in  the  Word  itself,  therefore,  and  not  in  any 
mistaken  views  of  it,  no  matter  how  strenuously  these 
may  be  advocated,  or  how  conscientiously  they  may  be 
believed,  that  our  trust  is  to  be  placed  ;  and  that  version 
of  the  Scriptures  which  most  fully  sets  forth  God's  actual 
manifestation  of  Himself  and  His  purpose  of  grace 
among  men,  in  terms  which  the  ordinary  man  can 
understand,  is  the  version  which  will  bear  most  fruit, 
and  which  therefore  ought  to  be  most  heartily  welcomed 
and  most  widely  circulated.  Whatever  is  to  be  the 
future  relation  between  the  Authorized  Version  and  the 
Revised  Version,  and  whether — as  seems  most  probable 
— they  are  to  flourish  side  by  side,  history  has  abun- 
dantly vindicated  the  claim;  of  the  former  to  be  a  true 
and  adequate  representation  of  the  Word  of  God  as 
set  forth  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. It  is  a  representation,  indeed,  which  has  far 
more  of  the  characteristics  of  an  original  work  than  of 
a  translation  from  another  language.  What  has  been 
claimed  with  justice  for  Luther's  German  Bible  may 
be  equally  claimed  for  the  Authorized  Version  among 
ourselves — that  it  is  rather  a  re -writing  than  a  mere 
translation  ;  a  transfusing  of  the  original  into  a  new 
language  rather  than  a  mere  version  of  the  letter  ;    so 


8  INTRODUCTION 

deep  is  the  insight,  so  true  the  sympathy,  so  perfect 
the  command  of  clear  popular  language.  Its  ascen- 
dency can  only  be  ascribed  to  its  intrinsic  excellence. 
It  is  the  English  Bible.  Its  authority  arises  from  its 
Divine  right  to  rule  ;  and  to  deny  this  is  to  be  guilty 
of   lese   majeste . 

Even  those  who  emphasize  most  the  inadequacy  of 
the  text  on  which  the  Authorized  Version  is  based,  and 
the  greatness  of  the  progress  in  comparative  philology 
and  the  study  of  the  original  languages  which  has  been 
made  since  the  days  of  King  James,  hasten  to  acknow- 
ledge, and  that  in  no  grudging  fashion,  that  nothing 
could  have  more  truly  or  more  impressively  set  forth 
not  only  the  meaning  but  the  spirit  of  Scripture,  than 
it  did.  Nor  are  those  awanting  among  students  and 
scholars  who  go  further,  and  say  that  such  was  the 
spiritual  sympathy  of  the  translators  of  three  centuries 
ago,  and  such  their  scholarly  insight  into  the  fulness 
of  the  Word,  that  they  have  wonderfully  anticipated 
in  their  renderings  the  truer  text  to  which  they  had  no 
access.  'The  Revised  New  Testament  is  substantially 
'  the  same  as  that  of  Wycliffe  and  Tyndale,  though  they 
'lacked  the  MSS.  we  have  to-day,'  says  one  who  is 
deeply  impressed  with  the  superiority  of  the  later  text 
and  of  its  new  rendering.  The  Revisers  themselves 
say,  and  say  it  with  enthusiasm,  that  the  more  they 
worked  with  the  Authorized  Version,  the  greater  did 
their  admiration  of  it  become .  '  We  have  had  to  study 
'  this  great  version  carefully  and  minutely,  line  by  line,' 
they  say  in  their  Preface  ;  '  and  the  longer  we  have 
'  been  engaged  upon  it,  the  more  we  have  learned  to 
'  admire  its  simplicity,  its  dignity,  its  power,  its  happy 
'  turns  of  expression,  its  general  accuracy,  and,  we  must 
'  not  fail  to  add,  the  music  of  its  cadences,  and  the 
'  felicities    of    its    rhythm.' 

A  competent  scholar  and  critic  has  gone  even  further 
than  to  suggest  a  happy  anticipation  of  the  true  text 
and  the  true  rendering  on  the  part  of  the  translators  in 
i6i  I.  He  maintains  that  '  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testa- 
'  ment  may  never  be  understood  as  classical  Greek  is 
•  understood  '. ;     and   that   the   Revisers   have   in    reality 


UNIVERSALITY  OF  THE  BIBLE  9 

distorted     passages     formerly     correctly     rendered     '  by 

*  translating  in  accordance  with  Attic  idiom  phrases  that 
'  convey  in  later  Greek  a  wholly  different  sense,  the 
'  sense  which  the  earlier  translators  in  happy  ignorance 
'had  recognized  that  the  context  demanded.'  Be  this 
as  it  may,  nothing  that  is  said  about  versions  or  trans- 
lations or  texts  ought  ever  to  be  allowed  to  make  us 
feel  that  we  are  removed  even  by  one  step  from  the 
very  mind  of  God  as  He  has  revealed  it  to  us  in  His 
Holy  Word. 

The  Bible  not  only  occupies  a  unique  place  in  the 
literature  and  life  of  the  human  race,  and  has  some 
inherent  power  of  its  own  which  no  other  book  has  ; 
it  bears  evidence  of  having  been  given  in  order  that  it 
might  be  rendered  into  other  tongues.  It  loses  less 
than  any  other  book  by  being  translated  ;  and  manifold 
testimony  has  been  borne  to  the  fact  that  the  Authorized 
Version  in  particular  resembles  a  book  in  its  original 
language  rather  than  a  translation .  '  The  tongue  of 
'  the  Hebrew,  the  idioms  of  Hellenistic  Greek,  lent  them- 

*  selves  with  a  curious  felicity  to  the  purposes  of 
'translation.'  Although  it  is  Oriental  in  its  origin,  the 
Bible  is  at  home  in  the  West  as  truly  as  in  the  East. 
Other  sacred  books,  like  trees,  have  their  zones  of 
vegetation  beyond  which  they  cannot  grow  ;  but  where - 
ever  man  can  live,  the  Bible  can  flourish  as  native  to 
the  soil.  And  nowhere  has  this  been  made  more 
manifest  than  during  these  bygone  three  centuries  in 
our  own  land. 


BOOK  I 

THE     ENGLISH    BIBLE     PRIOR    TO    THE 
AUTHORIZED   VERSION 


Chapter  I 

TRANSLATIONS    OF    THE    PSALTER    AND 
OTHER    PORTIONS    OF   SCRIPTURE 


'  Apart  from  their  own  transcendent  beauty  and  universal  truth,  the 
Psalms  have  enriched  the  world  by  the  creation  of  a  literature  which, 
century  after  century,  has  not  only  commanded  the  admiration  of  sceptics, 
but  elevated  the  characters  of  innumerable  believers,  encouraged  their 
weariness,  consoled  their  sorrows,  lifted  their  doubts,  and  guided  their 
wandering  footsteps.' — Prothero,  The  Psalms  in  Human  Life. 


BOOK  I 

THE    ENGLISH    BIBLE     PRIOR    TO    THE 
AUTHORIZED   VERSION 

Chapter  I 

TRANSLATIONS    OF    THE    PSALTER    AND 
OTHER    PORTIONS    OF    SCRIPTURE 

WITH  the  exception  of  the  merest  anonymous  frag- 
ments, the  appearance  of  translations  into  the 
vernacular  of  portions  of  the  Bible  is  coincident  with 
the  beginnings  of  English  literature.  Caedmon  '  was  the 
*  first  Englishman — it  may  be  the  first  individual  of 
'  Gothic  race — who  exchanged  the  gorgeous  images  of 
'  the  old  mythology  for  the  chaste  beauties  of  Christian 
'  poetry.'  He  was  a  servant  in  the  monastery  at  Whitby, 
and  was  an  old  man  who  knew  nothing  of  the  art  of 
verse  when  the  gift  of  song  came  to  him.  He  had 
the  care  of  the  cattle  ;  and  one  evening  after  he  had 
gone  to  the  stable,  he  fell  asleep,  with  his  mind  full 
of  the  songs  he  had  heard  the  others  sing,  and  with 
his  heart  sore  because  he  could  not  sing  as  they  could. 
As  he  slept.  One  came  to  him  who  said  :  '  Caedmon, 
sing  me  some  song.'  But  he  could  only  reply  sadly, 
as  he  had  so  often  done  to  his  fellow-servants,  that 
he  could  not  sing.  The  Heavenly  Visitor,  however, 
assured  him  that  he  would  sing,  and  told  him  to  sing  of 
the  beginning  of  created  things.  Whereupon  he  began 
to  recite  verses  to  God's  praise  ;  and  when  he  awoke, 
he    found  that   he   could   not   only   remember   them,    but 

13 


14      TRANSLATIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE  PORTIONS 

could  add  to  their  number.  More  than  that  ;  those  in 
authority  who  heard  his  songs  declared  that  heavenly 
grace  had  been  granted  to  him,  a  verdict  which  won 
the  approval  of  succeeding  ages. 

These  songs  of  Caedmon  were  sung  before  the  year 
680,  that  being  the  year  of  his  death  ;  and  Bede  tells 
that  he  sang  the  story  of  Genesis  and  Exodus  and  many 
other  tales  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  He  sang,  too, 
the  story  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles,  and  about  heaven 
and  hell.  '  Others  after  him  tried  to  make  religious 
*  poems,  but  none  could  compare  with  him  ;  for  he 
'  learned  the  art  of  song  not  from  men,  but,  Divinely 
'aided,  received  that  gift.'  His  poems  are  paraphrases 
rather  than  translations  ;  but  as  we  read  his  earnest, 
passionate  words,  twice  God-given,  we  cannot  but  feel 
something  of  the  awe  which  fills  the  heart  as  we  stand 
at  the  head -waters  of  some  great  history -making  river. 
We  can  only  see  him  now  through  the  mists  of  the 
ages,  a  dim  figure  indeed.  But  his  work  abides  ;  and 
who  can  doubt  that  as  he  sang  of  the  Creation  and 
of  Christ,  of  the  joys  of  heaven  and  the  woes  of  hell, 
to  the  simple  folk  of  his  time,  his  message  was  owned 
by  Him  who  gave  it,  and  that  many  a  burden  was  made 
lighter  and  many  a  yearning  met  ;  that  eyes  were  filled 
with  the  love  light,  and  weary,  aspiring  hearts  drawn 
upwards  to  God? 

Not  long  after  Caedmon's  time  we  find  others  working 
in  the  field  of  actual  translation.  Early  in  the  eighth 
century,  the  Psalter  was  rendered  into  Anglo-Saxon  by 
Ealdhelm,  Abbot  of  Malmesbury  and  Bishop  of  Sherborne, 
who  died  in  the  year  709  ;  and  by  Guthlac,  a  hermit  of 
Crowland,  near  Peterborough.  Three  copies  of  the 
former  translation,  belonging  to  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries,  still  survive.  At  Ealdhelm's  request,  it  is  said, 
Egbert,  Bishop  of  Holy  Island,  about  the  same  time 
completed  a  version  of  the  Gospels  in  Anglo-Saxon. 
A  copy  of  this  work  is  still  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  records  also  make  mention  of  ^Ifric, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  of  whose  translation  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment two  copies,  of  date  about    1000  A.D.,  are  extant. 


THE    VENERABLE  BEDE  15 

There  were  probably  others  who  did  work  of  the  same 
sort  which  has  not  survived,  but  which  all  went  to  make 
the  grand  result  grander  and  richer  in  the  ages  to 
come.  The  stream  was  still  very  tiny  ;  but  it  was  of 
pure  water,  and  it  must  have  refreshed  many  a  thirsty 
soul.  It  is  significant,  too,  that  then,  as  now,  when  the 
Word  was  precious  to  men's  souls,  they  sought  to  share 
their  joy  and  their  treasure  with  others,  and  to  let  them 
know  the  good  news  at  first-hand  in  the  records  pf 
Divine  grace. 

The  great  name,  however,  in  these  early  ages  is  that 
of  the  Venerable  Bede,  with  whom  English  prose  may 
fairly  be  said  to  begin.  He  was  a  contemporary  of  the 
others  who  have  just  been  named  ;  and  it  shows  how 
men's  minds  were  being  turned  towards  God,  that  so 
many  workers  were  now  busy  in  the  field  of  transla- 
tion. The  story  of  how  he  finished  his  translation  into 
/  English  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  has  often  been  told, 
and  will  never  be  forgotten.  When  the  last  day  of 
his  life  had  come,  the  dying  man  called  his  scholars 
to  him,  that  he  might  dictate  more  of  his  translation 
to  them.  '  There  is  still  a  chapter  wanting,'  he  was 
told,  *  and  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  question  thyself  longer.' 
'  It  is  easily  done,'  replied  the  dying  scholar  and 
saint  ;    '  take  thy  pen  and  write  swiftly.' 

Throughout  the  day  they  wrote,  and  when  evening 
fell,  '  There  is  yet  another  sentence  unwritten,  dear 
'  master,'   said  the  scribe. 

'  Write  it  quickly,'  said  the  master. 
*  It  is  finished  now.' 

'  Thou  say  est  true,'  was  the  reply,  *  all  is  finished 
'  now  .*  i 

He  sang  glory  to  God,  and  passed  to  be  with  his 
Lord.  He  was  a  great  scholar,  and  had  brought  honour 
to  the  monastery  at  Jarrow-on-Tyne  ;  and  he  lives  for 
ever  in  the  story  of  the  English  Bible.  Nor  in  presence 
of  his  love  for  the  Scripture  and  his  yearning  that  others 
also  should  know  and  love  it,  can  it  be  too  strongly 
insisted  on  that  a  monastery  like  his  had  little  or  nothing 
in  common  with  the  institutions  which  overshadowed 
the   land   seven   centuries   later.      At   its   best   the   early 


1 6      TRANSLATIONS   OF  SCRIPTURE   PORTIONS 

monastery  was  not  a  place  to  which  men  fled  from  duty, 
but  a  place  to  which  they  turned  that  they  might  be 
fitted  to  follow  wherever  duty  led.  It  was  a  Mission 
Institute,  a  Training  College,  a  Bible  Society,  all  in 
one.  It  was  there  that  the  literary  treasures  which  have 
come  down  to  us  from  these  early  ages  were  lovingly 
penned,  and  that  the  love  of  letters  was  kept  alive  in 
times  of  ignorance  and  continuous  warfare. 

King  Alfred  the  Great  has  also  a  place  in  this  Anglo- 
Saxon  legion  of  honour  ;  for  when  the  document  entitled 
'  Alfred's  Dooms  '  was  prepared,  he  put  as  the  first 
of  the  laws  of  ancient  England  a  translation  of  the 
Ten  Commandments  in  forcible,  simple  Anglo-Saxon. 
He  seems  also  to  have  set  himself  to  translate  the 
Psalter,  which,  with  the  Gospels,  was  the  favoured 
portion  of  Scripture  then  as  it  is  n|H|k  but,  between 
the  Danes  and  other  cares  of  the  STaTe'  he  was  never 
able  to  finish  that  work.  An  interesting  insight  into 
the  spirit  of  these  old  Anglo-Saxon  translators  is  afforded 
in  a  homily  which  has  come  down  to  us  on  '  Reading 
'  the  Scriptures  '  ;  the  work  of  ^Ifric,  himself  a  trans- 
lator. '  Whoever,'  he  says,  '  would  be  one  with  God, 
'  must  often  pray,  and  often  read  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
'  For  when  we  pray,  we  speak  to  God  ;  and  when  we 
'  read  the  Bible,  God  speaks  to  us.  .  .  .  The  whole 
'  of  the  Scriptures  are  written  for  our  salvation,  and 
*  by  them  we  obtain  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.'  If 
such  views  were  at  all  common,  it  is  no  wonder  that  so 
many  set  themselves  to  make  it  possible  for  others, 
who  were  able  to  read,  to  study  the  Scriptures  for 
themselves.  There  is  a  simple  directness  about  these 
words,  too,  which  shows  that  the  Mystery  of  Iniquity 
had   not   yet   attained   the   predominance. 

The  work  of  these  Anglo-Saxon  translators,  and  of 
others  like  them  who  live  only  in  the  grand  result, 
was  doubtless  meant  principally  for  use  in  the  Church 
service,  there  being  no  reading  public  then  ;  and  they 
must  have  cheered  and  guided  many  in  these  early  ages. 
The  light  would  be  all  the  brighter  because  the 
surrounding  darkness  was  so  dense.  The  Norman  Con- 
quest,  however,   wrought   a   great   change.      The   Saxon 


OPPOSITION  TO  BIBLE  KNOWLEDGE  17 

manuscripts  were  despised  by  the  new  rulers  in  Church 
and  State  ;  and  by-and-by  they  became  unintelligible 
to  the  common  people  themselves.  In  little  more  than 
a  century  after  the  Invasion,  in  addition  to  the  Latin 
Church  hymns  the  Norman  population  had  a  prose 
translation  of  the  Psalms  in  their  own  Anglo-Norman, 
and  the  French  mediaeval  literature  was  rich  in  transla- 
tions of  portions  of  the  Bible.  But  that,  of  course,  meant 
nothing  for  the  masses  of  the  English  people.  Mean- 
while, however,  the  fusion  was  gradually  going  on  which 
led  to  the  supremacy  of  the  English  language  ;  and,  in 
spite  of  all  that  Bible  translation  has  done  to  guide 
and  fix  the  language  at  every  stage  in  its  development, 
it  is  probable  that  Wiclif's  Bible  in  1382  appeared 
almost  as  early  as  any  version  could  which  was  to  be 
the  Bible  of  the^«hole  nation,  and  to  retain  its  place 
among  the  EngllB^)eople . 

Another  influence  was  likewise  at  work  which  may 
also  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  cessation  of 
Bible  translation  among  the  Anglo-Saxons.  In- 
creasingly as  Romanism  developed  on  the  lines  which 
it  still  unhappily  follows,  and  sacerdotalism  was  casting 
its  baleful  shadow  all  over  the  land,  a  knowledge  of 
the  vernacular  Scriptures  was  regarded  with  suspicion 
by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.  As  mutterings  of  dis- 
satisfaction, too,  began  to  be  heard  among  the  awakening 
nations,  the  influence  of  the  Bible  was  felt  to  be  hostile 
alike  to  the  tyrant  and  the  priest.  It  cannot  be  claimed 
for  the  Mediaeval  Church  that  she  ever  encouraged  a 
knowledge  of  the  vernacular  Scriptures.  The  utmost 
she  ever  did  was  to  tolerate  a  knowledge  of  the  Psalter, 
of  Service  Books,  and,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  of  the 
Plenaria.  These  were  little  books  with  translations  of 
some  paragraphs  from  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  read  in 
the  Church  service,  accompanied  by  legends  and  popular 
tales.  It  is  quite  beyond  dispute  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  in  the  vernacular,  especially  by  the  uneducated,  was 
almost  always  regarded  as  a  sign  of  heretical  tendencies. 
In  the  year  '1229,  a  Council  at  Toulouse  had  decreed  : 
'  We  also  forbid  the  laity  to  possess  any  of  the  books 
'  of   the    Old   or    New   Testaments,    except   perhaps    the 


1 8     TRANSLATIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE  PORTIONS 

'  Psalter,  or  Breviary  for  the  offices,  or  the  hours  of 
*  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  some  out  of  devotion  wish 
'  to  have  ;  but  having  any  of  these  books  translated 
'  into  the  vulgar  tongue  we  strictly  forbid.' 

During  the  period  usually  described  as  that  of  Old 
English,  from  1250  to  1350,  in  spite  of  all  the  re- 
actionary forces  at  work,  portions  of  Scripture  continued 
to  be  rendered  into  the  vernacular  by  zealous  Christian 
men  eager  that  their  countrymen  should  hear  the  voice 
of  God  for  themselves.  That  it  was  so  often  the 
Psalter  which  was  thus  translated  may  indicate  that  this 
was  deemed  the  line  of  least  resistance.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  thirteenth  century  an  author,  now  unknown, 
made  a  translation  of  the  Psalms  into  verse  ;  the  language 
being  simple  and  full  of  expression.  Then,  about  the 
year  1325,  two  translations  of  the  Psalter  into  English 
prose  appeared  almost  simultaneously.  The  one  was 
by  William  of  Shoreham,  a  country  parish  priest  in 
the  county  of  Kent  ;  the  other  was  the  work  of  Richard 
Rolle,  known  as  the  hermit  of  Hampole.  The  former 
wrote  the  Psalms  verse  by  verse  in  Latin  and  English  ; 
the  translation  being  generally  verbal  and  faithful.  The 
latter  had  in  the  first  instance  written  a  commentary  on 
the  Psalms.  This  led  him  afterwards  to  translate  and 
publish  it  with  an  English  commentary.  In  his  '  Psalms 
in  Human  Life,'  Mr.  Prothero  says  that  Rolle 's  work  on 
its  spiritual  side  illustrates  one  of  the  movements  which 
led  up  to  the  Reformation. 

Somewhat  later,  too,  there  was  a  translator,  John  of 
Trevisa  in  Cornwall,  who  so  far  as  the  history  of 
Scripture  is  concerned  is  somewhat  elusive.  He  turned 
the  Polychronicon  of  Ranulf  Higden  into  English  verse 
about  1387  ;  and  in  the  preface  to  the  Authorized 
Version  he  is  mentioned  on  behalf  of  the  Translators 
as  one  of  their  forerunners  in  the  good  work.  *  Much 
'  about  that  time,  even  in  our  King  Richard  the  Second's 
'  days,  John  Trevisa  translated  them — the  Gospels,  that 
'is — into  English.'  The  first  reference  to  his  work 
as  Bible  translator  is  by  Caxton  in  1482  ;  but  what- 
ever he  did,  it  is  not  certain  that  any  of  his  work 
remains . 


TILL    THE   TIME   OF   WICLIF  19 

When  Sir  Thomas  More  asserted  that  it  was  not  the 
case  that  Wiclif  was  the  first  who  carried  through  a 
translation  of  the  whole  Bible  into  English  for  the  use 
of  the  laity,  he  added  that  he  himself  had  seen  beautiful 
manuscripts  of  the  English  Bible  which  belonged  to  a 
date  long  prior  to  that  of  Wiclif.  This  was  not  only- 
accepted  later  by  a  man  so  learned  as  Archbishop 
Ussher,  but  Henry  Wharton  his  editor,  in  turn  credited 
John  of  Trevisa  with  having  been  the  translator  of  one 
of  those  pre-Wiclifite  manuscripts  which  they  also  had 
both  seen.  By -and -by,  however,  Wharton  came  to  see 
that  both  he  and  Ussher,  as  well  as  More,  had  been 
wrong,  and  that  what  they  had  all  seen  were  nothing 
more  than  copies  of  Wiclif 's  version.  There  is  docu- 
mentary proof  that  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  there 
were  several  of  these  Wiclif  manuscripts  in  the  hands 
of  Roman  Catholic  prelates.  Certain  it  is  that  neither 
Wiclif  nor  the  men  of  his  generation  knew  anything 
about  any  predecessor  in  this  field.  Had  there  been 
earlier  versions  of  the  whole  Bible  in  existence,  the 
wrath  of  the  Reformer's  enemies  because  of  what  he 
did  would  have  been  altogether  unmeaning. 

For  the  whole  period  prior  to  Wiclif,  who  first 
rendered  the  whole  Bible  into  English  and  made  it  the 
people's  book,  the  state  of  the  case  cannot  be  better 
summarized  than  has  been  done  by  Professor  Lechler 
of  Leipzig,  with  whose  statement  this  chapter  may  be 
brought  to  a  close.     '  The  whole  result  for  this  period, 

*  as  well  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  as  of  the  Norman  and  Old 

*  English  tongue,  stands  as  follows  : — 

'  .1 .  A    translation    of    the    entire    Bible    was    never 

*  during  this  period  accomplished  in  England,  and  was 
'never   even   apparently   contemplated. 

*  2.  The  Psalter  was  the  only  book  of  Scripture  which 
'  was  fully  and  literally  translated  into  all  the  three 
languages  —  Anglo-Saxon,  Anglo-Norman,  and  Old 
'  English. 

'  3.  In  addition,  several  books  of  Scripture,  especially 
'  of  the  Old  Testament,  were  translated  partially  or  in 
'  select  passages,  as  by  ^Elfric,  leaving  out  of  view 
'  poetical  versions,  and  the  translation  of  the  Gospel  of 


20      TRANSLATIONS   OF  SCRIPTURE  PORTIONS 

'  John   by   Bede,    which   celebrated   work  has   not    come 

*  down  to  us, 

'  4.  Last  of  all — and  this  fact  is  of  great  importance 

*  — in  none  of  these  translations  was  it  designed  to  make 
'  the  Word  of  God  accessible  to  the  mass  of  the  people, 
'  and  to  spread  Scriptural  knowledge  among  them.  The 
'  only    object    which    was    kept    in   view    was    partly    to 

*  furnish  aid  to  the  clergy  and  to  render  service  to  the 
'  educated  class.' 


Chapter   II 

THE   MORNING   STAR  OF  THE   ENGLISH 
REFORMATION 


'  Holy  Scripture  is  the  faultless,  most  true,  most  perfect,  and  most  holy 
law  of  God,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  all  men  to  know,  to  defend,  and  to 
observe,  inasmuch  as  they  are  bound  to  serve  the  Lord  in  accordance  with 
it,  under  the  promise  of  an  eternal  reward.' — John  Wiclif. 


Chapter  II 

THE    MORNING    STAR    OF    THE    ENGLISH 
REFORMATION 

NO  name  in  all  the  long  history  of  the  English  Bible 
occupies  a  more  honourable  place  than  that  of 
John  Wiclif.  To  him  belongs  the  unique  honour  of 
being  the  first  to  give  the  English  peoples  the  whole 
Bible  in  their  own  tongue.  He  was  a  great  pioneer  of 
freedom  alike  in  Church  and  State.  A  scholar  and  a 
thinker,  he  had  great  influence  in  all  the  upheavals  of 
his  time  ;  but  above  all  else,  he  was  a  Christian  patriot 
who  wished  all  men  to  hear  the  Word  of  God  for  them- 
selves arid  to  be  free  in  Christ.  It  is  hardly  possible  to 
over-rate  the  significance  of  his  work,  at  once  for  the 
English  people  and  for  the  English  language.  More  than 
aught  else,  it  kept  alive  in  the  hearts  of  the  people 
that  irrepressible  spirit  of  free  inquiry  which  led  to  the 
Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Many  are  of 
opinion  that  Chaucer's  '  parsoun  of  a  toune,'  so  winsome 
and  faithful,  was  no  other  than  Wiclif,  whose  teaching 
the  great  poet  had  embraced  ;  and  from  many  points 
of  view  there  are  few,  if  any,  English  workers  and  writers 
who  more  deserve  the  gratitude  of  the  whole  nation. 

Wiclif  was  a  great  scholar  and  an  ardent  patriot, 
a  lover  of  the  Gospel  and  intensely  brave  ;  but  most 
of  all  he  was  a  loyal,  growing.  Christian  man.  He  was 
a  true  statesman  and  man  of  affairs,  wise  and  concilia- 
tory in  all  his  ways.  But  he  was  altogether  unyielding 
where  principle  and  truth  were  involved  ;  and  modern 
historical  research  is  showing  that  his  work  was  vastly 
more     fruitful     than     has     sometimes     been     supposed. 


24  JOHN  WICLIF 

Lollardy  never  died  out,  either  in  England  or  Scotland  ; 
and  Lollardy  was  simply  the  English  form  of  the  passive 
protest  against  the  Mediaeval  Church,  which  under  various 
names  maintained  itself  in  France,  Germany,  and 
Bohemia,  for  centuries,  in  spite  of  persecution.  As  late 
as  1 521,  the  Bishop  of  London  arrested  five  hundred 
Lollards;  while  in  1533,  we  find  Sir  Thomas  More, 
in  a  letter  to  Erasmus,  describing  Tyndale  and  his 
sympathizers  as  Wiclifites. 

Writers  like  Professor  Pollard  and  Dr.  Rashdall  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that  the  English  Reformation  was 
native  to  the  soil,  and  that  it  borrowed  little  or 
nothing  from  Luther.  They  point  out  that  in  many 
particulars  it  followed  the  lines  laid  down  by  Wiclif 
long  before.  When,  therefore,  it  is  said  that  Wiclif 
lived  before  his  time,  that  does  not  mean  that  he  was 
as  one  born  out  of  due  season  or  that  he  sowed  his  seed 
in  vain  ;  but  only  that  in  his  case  the  interval  between 
the  sowing  and  the  reaping  was  longer  than  usual.  *  It 
'is  certain,'  says  Dr.  Rashdall,  'that  the  Reformation 
'  had  virtually  broken  out  in  the  secret  Bible -readings 
'  of  the  Cambridge  Reformers  before  either  the  trumpet - 
'call  of  Luther  or  the  exigencies  of  Henry  VIII. 's 
'  personal  and  political  position  set  men  free  once  more 
*  to  talk  openly  against  the  Pope  and  the  monks,  and 
'  to  teach  a  simpler  and  more  spiritual  Gospel  than  the 
'  system    against    which    Wyclifife    had   striven.' 

Even  as  regards  his  version  of  the  Bible,  his  work 
was  far  more  influential  than  has  often  been  asserted. 
Professor  Plumptre,  writing  some  fifty  years  ago,  said  : 
'  The  work  of  Wycliffe  stands  by  itself.  Whatever  power 
'  it  exercised  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  Reformation 
'  of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  had  no  perceptible  influence 
'  on  later  translations.'  But  Dr.  Moulton  has  since  shown 
that  there  is  so  much  in  common  in  language  and 
expression  between  Wiclif  and  Tyndale,  that  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  earlier  Wiclifite  renderings  had  passed 
into  general  currency  and  become  almost  proverbial 
phrases.  The  truth  is,  as  Forshall  and  Madden,  the  editors 
of  The  Wycliffite  Versions,  put  it,  that  in  the  Reformation 
era  these   versions   '  supplied  an  example   and  a  model 


A  SCHOLAR  AND  A   STATESMAN  25 

'  to   those   excellent   men,   who  in   like   manner   devoted 

*  themselves  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives  to  the  transla- 
'  tion  of  Scripture,  and  to  its  publication  among  the 
'people  of  the  land.'  Even  yet  there  are  at  least  one 
hundred    and    fifty    manuscripts    extant    '  containing    the 

*  whole  or  part  of  Purvey 's  Bible,  the  majority  of  which 
'  were  written  within  the  space  of  forty  years  from  its 
'being  finished.'  And  many  of  these  are  full  of  interest 
and  must  have  exerted  a  great  influence.  If  some  of 
them  could  tell  the  story  of  their  wanderings  and  their 
work  it  would  be  a  fascinating  tale.  One  belonged  to 
Edward  VI.  Another  was  a  birthday  present  to  Queen 
Elizabeth  from  her  chaplain.  Another  belonged  to 
Henry  VI.  ;  and  yet  another  to  Richard,  Duke  of 
Gloucester. 

The  exact  date  of  Wiclif's  birth  is  unknown  ;  but  it 
was  somewhere  about  1324  ;  perhaps  a  few  years  earlier. 
He  grew  up  in  his  native  county  of  Yorkshire,  and  studied 
at  Oxford,  where  he  distinguished  himself  greatly  alike 
as  a  scholar  and  as  an  administrator.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  guiding  Edward  III.  and  the  English 
people  to  reject  the  Papal  claim  to  feudatory  tribute  ; 
and  for  a  time  had  much  influence  in  public  affairs. 
He  incurred  the  deep  enmity  of  the  Romish  hierarchy,  but 
there  were  always  friends  who  saved  him  from  the 
consequences  of  its  wrath.  He  advanced  step  by  step 
in  his  opposition  to  formalism  and  priestism  in  religion, 
and  to  the  prevalent  corruption  in  morals.  He  wrote 
tracts  in  English  for  the  common  people  ;  and  organized 
a  band  of  preachers,  called  the  Poor  Priests,  who  went 
through  the  country  preaching  his  doctrines  of  grace. 
And  so  he  was  led  on  to  the  great  work  of  translation 
which  occupied  his  later  years.  He  had  laid  it  down 
as  fundamental  that  God's  Word  must  be  taught  because 
it  is  the  indispensable  bread  of  life,  the  seed  of  regenera- 
tion and  conversion.  The  next  step  was  to  see  and 
determine  that  the  Bible  must  be  rendered  into  the 
language  of  the  people,  so  that  it  might  be  known  every- 
where as  God's  good  news  of  salvation.  That  was  the 
next  step,  the  natural  and  obvious  step — when  once  it  had 
been  taken  ;    but  it  had  never  been  taken  before,  and  all 


26  JOHN   WICLIF 

honour  to  the  heroic  man  who  took  it,  as  Wiclif  did,  in 
]oyahy  to  the  logic  of  the  soul. 

It  is  probable  that  parts  of  Wiclif's  Bible  were  issued 
earlier  than  1382  ;  but  that  was  the  year  in  which  the 
whole  book  was  finished — two  years  before  his  death. 
It  was  translated  from  the  Vulgate,  the  Latin  version 
that  is,  which  had  been  in  use  since  the  time  of  Jerome 
in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  The  time  had 
not  yet  come  for  a  rendering  from  the  original  Hebrew 
and  Greek.  Neither  of  these  languages  was  at  that  time 
taught  in  the  West,  Of  the  actual  work  of  translation, 
only  the  New  Testament  can  be  assigned  with  certainty 
to  Wiclif  himself  ;  his  friend  Nicholas  of  Hereford  being 
responsible  for  most  of  the  Old  Testament  and  of  the 
Apocrypha.  What  is  believed  to  be  the  original  MS.  of  his 
translation  is  in  the  Bodleian  Library  and  breaks  off  at 
Baruch  3.  20  ;  while  in  a  second  MS.,  copied  from  it, 
it  is  noted  that  the  translation  of  Nicholas  ended  there. 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  Wiclif  himself  did  the 
remainder,  and  that  the  work  of  revising  the  whole,  to 
which  he  set  himself  at  once  thereafter,  occupied  the  rest 
of  his  lifetime. 

This  revision,  however,  was  a  work  of  time,  especially 
the  revision  of  what  Nicholas  had  done,  and  Wiclif  was 
not  spared  to  see  it  completed.  The  revised  Wiclif 
Bible,  which  is  the  standard,  appeared  in  1388,  four  years 
after  his  death.  The  improvements  in  it,  which  were 
very  real,  were  essentially  the  work  of  one  man,  the 
trusted  friend  of  the  Reformer  and  in  later  years  his 
fellow-worker,  John  Purvey,  whose  name  will  never  be 
forgotten  while  that  of  Wiclif  survives — which  will 
surely  be  as  long  as  the  English  Bible  has  its  place  in 
our  land.  When  their  translation  appeared,  it  was  most 
eagerly  received  and  widely  read.  Although  it  cost  a 
sum  equal  to  forty  pounds  of  our  money,  many  copies 
of  it  were  soon  in  circulation.  Many,  of  course,  had  to 
be  content  with  small  portions  of  it  ;  as,  for  instance, 
those  who  gave  a  load  of  hay  for  a  few  chapters  of  an 
epistle.  Touching  stories  are  told  of  how  the  people 
used  to  gather  to  hear  someone  read  or  even  repeat 
the  Word  of  God  in  their  own  speech  ;    and  it  is  not 


HIS  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  BIBLE  27 

possible  to  estimate  how  much  this  first  English  Bible 
must  have  done  to  keep  the  fire  burning  on  the  altar 
in  these  dark,  and  in  some  respects  darkening,  ages. 
It  had  been  written  for  the  common  people,  and  they 
heard  it  gladly  ;  and  with  the  spelling  modernized  it 
can  still  be  read  with  ease.  It  is  said  that  not  many 
years  ago  long  passages  from  it  were  read  aloud  in 
Yorkshire,  when  it  was  found,  not  only  that  they  were 
understood  by  the  hearers  but  that  almost  every  word 
employed  is  still  in  use  there. 

It  was,  of  course,  a  great  drawback  that  Wiclif's 
translation  was  from  the  Latin  and  not  from  the  original 
tongues .  But  nothing  else  was  possible  then  ;  and  while 
there  is  much  even  in  his  English  which  is  now  archaic, 
it  was  the  English  in  which  all  future  English  literature 
was  to  be  written.  Just  as  Luther's  Bible  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  New  High  German,  Wiclif's  opens  the  period 
of  Middle  English.  Chaucer  is  usually  taken  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  Middle  English  literature  ;  but  although 
he  is  the  father  of  English  poetry  and  has  some  rare 
features  of  superiority,  the  tendency  among  philologists 
now  is  to  recognize  Wiclif's  prose  as  the  earliest  classic 
Middle  English.  Chaucer  and  he  stand  side  by  side  ; 
and  it  has  been  remarked  that  Wiclif  rises  to  an  un- 
common pitch  of  perspicuity,  force,  and  beauty,  in  his 
Bible  translation  as  compared  with  his  other  English 
writings.  Doubtless  the  greatness  of  his  theme  inspired 
and  ennobled  him  all  round,  just  as  it  was  with  Tyndale 
when,  a  century  and  a  half  later,  he  took  up  the  same 
great  work.  Of  the  later  translator  it  has  been  remarked 
that  the  exquisite  grace  and  melody  of  the  language 
of  his  New  Testament  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise 
to  those  who  are  familiar  with  his  other  writings,  which 
have  no  qualities  that  raise  them  above  the  ordinary  l^el 
of  the  time.  Both  men  made  this  their  life -work,  "Wd 
threw  themselves  into  it,  body,  soul,  and  spirit  ;  and  the 
glory  of  their  work  and  theme  pervaded  their  w&ole 
being. 

The  peculiar  glory  of  Wiclif,  however,  in  this  work 
of  translation  is  not  his  style  or  his  services  to  the 
English  language  ;    but  that  for  high  and  holy  ends  he 


28  JOHN  WICLIF 

set  himself  to  render  the  whole  Bible  into  the  vernacular. 
Special  portions  of  it  had  been  already  translated  for 
special  purposes  ;  but  he  was  the  first  whose  whole 
being  thrilled  with  the  great  conception  of  the  Bible 
for  the  people,  and  for  the  people's  use  in  their  own 
homes.  The  special  merit  of  his  translation  is  that  at 
the  time  it  was  '  not  only  the  one  translation  of  the 
'  whole  of  the  Scriptures  into  English  which  had  ever 
'  been  made,  but  actually  by  a  hundred  years  the  first 
'  translation  into  a  European  tongue.'  It  is  absurd  either 
for  Sir  Thomas  More  in  his  day,  or  for  Father  Gasquet 
in  ours,  to  deny  this.  What  meaning  could  there  have 
been  in  the  attack  on  Wiclif  by  his  contemporaries,  had 
he  not  been  a  pioneer? 

One  Kneighton,  a  chronicler  of  the  time,  writing  in 
all  probability  before  the  year  1400,  openly  laments  the 
translation  of  the  Bible  into  English,  and  ascribes  the 
guilt  categorically  to  Wiclif.  He  maintained  that  Christ 
gave  His  Gospel,  not  to  the  Church,  but  only  to  the 
clergy  and  doctors  of  the  Church,  that  they  might  com- 
municate it  to  the  weaker  brethren  and  the  laity  according 
to  their  need  ;  and  he  angrily  complains  that  Wiclif 
had  made  the  Scriptures  '  common  and  more  open  to 
'  laymen  and  to  women  than  it  was  wont  to  be  to  clerks 
'  well -learned  and  of  good  understanding,  so  that  the 
'pearl  of  the  Gospel  is  trodden  under  foot  of  swine.' 

The  theory  of  the  Mediaeval  Church,  that  any  know- 
ledge of  the  Scriptures  which  was  necessary  for  the 
laity  should  come  to  them  through  the  clergy,  was  all 
the  more  intolerable  in  that,  as  corruptions  increased,  the 
clergy  did  not  know  the  Scriptures  themselves  so  as 
to  be  able  to  break  the  bread  of  life  to  the  hungry 
multitudes  who  looked  up  to  them  to  be  fed  ;  and  so 
often  looked  in  vain.  There  were  only  too  many 
ecclesiastics,  like  the  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  who  thanked 
God  that  he  knew  neither  the  Old  Testament  nor  the 
New.  In  England  in  the  year  1551,  out  of  311  clerics 
in  the  diocese  of  Gloucester,  all  incumbents  of  parishes, 
who  were  examined  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the  Ten 
Commandments,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  only   90  passed  well  or  fairly  well.     No  fewer 


HIS  FOES  29 

than  171  of  them  could  not  repeat  the  Commandments, 
10  could  not  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  9  could 
not  repeat  the  Creed.  Manifestly  such  spiritual  guides 
were  not  qualified  to  be  the  Scriptures  for  the  people, 
nor  were  they  entitled  to  offer  their  teaching  as  a 
substitute  for  the  written  oracles  of  God,  as  they 
presumed  to  do. 

That  Wiclif  was  the  first  who  ever  set  himself  to 
give  the  whole  Bible  to  the  people,  or  who  had  in 
view  the  needs  of  the  whole  community  and  not  merely 
the  convenience  of  the  clergy,  is  borne  out  both  by 
friends  and  foes.  In  the  year  141 2,  Archbishop  Arundel 
of  Canterbury  and  his  sufi^ragan  bishops  petitioned  the 
Pope  to  pronounce  sentence  of  condemnation  on  the 
heresy  of  Wiclif  and  those  who  adhered  to  him.  In 
this  document,  among  other  charges  brought  against 
the  Reformer,  one  was  that  he  had  contended  with  all 
his  power  against  the  faith  and  doctrine  of  the  Church, 
and  that  in  order  to  make  his  malice  complete  he  had 
devised  and  carried  out  the  plan  of  a  translation  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  mother  tongue.  In  the 
previous  year,  too,  one  of  Wiclif's  admirers,  John  Huss, 
in  a  pamphlet  against  John  Stokes,  said  :  '  It  is  plain 
'  from  his  writings  that  Wycliffe  was  not  a  German,  but 
*  an  Englishman  ;  .  .  .  for  the  English  say  he  trans - 
'  lated  the  whole  Bible  from  Latin  into  English.' 

This,  then,  is  the  great  and  assured  place  which 
Wiclif  occupies  in  the  annals  of  the  English  Bible  ; 
and  even  if  what  he  gave  the  people  was  only  a  trans- 
lation of  a  translation,  and  perpetuated  the  errors  which 
had  crept  into  the  Vulgate,  it  was  a  great  gift  of  God 
to  his  age  and  his  land.  In  some  respects,  the  measure 
of  its  worth  and  influence — as  it  shed  light  all  round 
the  circle  of  life,  and  roused  men  both  to  their  duties 
and  their  rights — is  the  greatness  of  the  anger  and  malice 
of  his  foes.  But  most  of  all,  the  measure  of  its  worth 
is  the  work  it  did,  and  which  culminated  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  the  truths  for  which  he  had  contended 
proved  victorious  in  so  many  lands.  Wiclif's  Bible  began 
a  new  era  in  England  and  for  many  beyond  it,  in  things 
political  and  social  as  well  as  in  things  spiritual  and 
religious . 


Chapter  III 

THE   COMING  OF  THE   PRINTING-PRESS  AND  THE 
NEW   LEARNING 


'  If  thou  art  merry,  here  are  airs, 
If  melancholy,  here  are  prayers  ; 
If  studious,  here  are  those  things  writ 
Which  may  deserve  thy  ablest  wit  ; 
If  hungry,  here  is  food  Divine  ; 
If  thirsty,  nectar,  heavenly  wine. 

'  Read,  then,  but  first  thyself  prepare 
To  read  with  zeal  and  mark  with  care ; 
And  when  thou  read'st  what  here  is  writ. 
Let  thy  best  practice  second  it ; 
So  twice  each  precept  read  should  be. 
First  in  the  book  and  next  in  thee.' 


Chapter  III 

THE   COMING   OF   THE   PRINTING-PRESS   AND 
THE   NEW  LEARNING 

ALTHOUGH  only  a  century  elapsed  between  the 
death  of  John  Wiclif  and  the  birth  of  William 
Tyndale,  the  next  great  figure  in  the  history  of  the 
English  Bible,  these  years  had  witnessed  two  changes 
which  were  truly  revolutionary  so  far  as  that  history 
is  concerned.  These  were  the  invention  of  printing 
and  the  revival  of  Greek  learning  in  Western  Europe. 
When  Wiclif's  version  was  made,  it  had  to  be  laboriously 
copied  by  hand,  just  as  Jerome's  had  been,  or  as  the 
original  manuscripts  themselves  had  been  ;  but  when 
Tyndale's  was  ready,  it  was  multiplied  as  if  by  magic 
by  the  new  printing-presses.  The  change  was  indeed 
so  magical  that  at  first  some  deemed  it  had  a  connection 
with  the  black  arts  ;  and  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  after 
its  wont,  ordered  the  books  which  the  servants  of  John 
Faust  had  brought  to  that  city  for  sale,  to  be  committed 
to  the  flames. 

Even  shrewd  men  failed  for  a  time  to  realize  how 
much  the  invention  involved,  or  the  full  significance  of 
it  in  connection  with  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures. 
On  one  occasion,  the  Bishop  of  London,  acting  through 
an  *  honest  broker,'  a  merchant  named  Pakington,  bought 
up  an  edition  of  Tyndale's  New  Testament,  and  then 
was  amazed  to  find  that  the  New  Testaments  continued 
to  pour  into  the  country  as  before.  When  he  appealed 
to  his  agent  to  explain  the  mystery,  he  replied  :  *  It 
'  were   best    for   your    lordship    to    buy    up    the    stamps 

D  33 


34         PRINTING  AND   THE  NEW  LEARNING 

'too  by  which  they  are  impressed.'  But  that  was  just 
what  he  could  not  do.  Even  Wiclif's  manuscripts, 
as  we  have  seen,  could  not  be  quite  extirpated,  although 
they  might  go  altogether  out  of  sight  ;  and  when  it 
came  to  doing  battle  with  the  printing-press,  obscurantism 
at  its  mightiest  and  most  malignant  was  destined  to 
fail.  Do  what  it  might  with  the  copies,  the  '  stamps  ' 
remained,  and  stamps  and  copies  alike  could  easily  be 
multiplied. 

No  more  epoch-making  change  than  this  has  ever 
taken  place  in  the  history  either  of  religion  or  literature  ; 
and  from  the  first  the  printing-press  was  consecrated  by 
many  to  the  Divine  service  of  multiplying  the  Word 
of  God.  The  first  book  from  Gutenberg's  press  at  Mainz 
is  believed  to  have  been  the  Latin  Bible  known  as  the 
Mazarin,  because  copies  of  it  were  found  in  the  library 
of  Cardinal  Mazarin  at  Paris.  Thus  did  the  new  art 
dedicate  its  firstfruits  to  the  service  of  Heaven.  It  is 
noteworthy,  too,  that  there  issued  from  the  earliest 
printing-presses  in  Germany  many  more  books  for 
family  and  private  devotion,  many  more  Plenaria^  and 
many  more  editions  of  the  Bible,  than  were  issued  of 
the  classics.  Twenty -two  editions  of  the  Psalter,  from 
which  rivulets  of  blessing  had  flowed  all  through  the 
Middle  Ages,  appeared  in  German  before  1509;  and 
twenty-five  editions  of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  which 
were   growing   in  popular   esteem,   before    15 18. 

Caxton  introduced  printing  into  England  in  1474, 
and  immediately  thereafter  translations  and  summaries 
of  portions  of  Scripture  began  to  appear  from  his  press. 
The  first  printed  book  in  English  in  which  considerable 
passages  of  Scripture  appeared  was  the  '  Golden 
'  Legend  '  ;  and  it  would  appear  that  Caxton  deliberately 
chose  this  way  of  spreading  Divine  truth  as  the  line 
of  least  resistance,  and  as  less  likely  to  meet  with  the 
opposition  of  the  obscurantists,  who  liked  the  printing- 
press  least  when  it  was  printing  Bibles.  With  the 
special  additions  made  to  it  by  Caxton,  it  put  the  English 
reader  in  possession  of  the  Gospel  story  and  the  whole 
of  the  Old  Testament  narrative.  On  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  too,  the  first  printed  book  was  the  Psalter, 


YEARNING  FOR   THE    TRUTH  35 

translated    into    English    verse    by    two    ministers,    in    a 
rude  volume  of  some  three  hundred  pages. 

In  Wiclif's  time  it  took  a  copyist  ten  months  to 
produce  one  copy  of  his  Bible  ;  and  when  it  was  ready 
it  cost  a  sum  equal  to  forty  pounds  of  our  money. 
But  within  four  years  of  the  first  appearance  of  the 
printed  New  Testament  in  English,  as  many  as  1 5,000 
copies  were  issued  ;  whereas  many  years  ago  it  was 
affirmed  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  Oxford  Press 
to  print  an  entire  Bible  in  one  minute,  with  the  result 
that  Bibles  can  now  be  sold  at  a  price  which  brings  them 
within  the  reach  of  the  poorest.  At  first,  of  course, 
even  a  printed  Bible  must  have  cost  far  more  than 
the  poor  could  pay.  But  they  could  get  a  Gospel  or 
an  Epistle  or  the  Psalter  ;  and  there  is  abundant 
evidence  that  all  ranks  and  classes,  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men,  were  buying  and  studying  the 
Scriptures    now   that   they    were    within    their    reach. 

God  never  is  before  His  time,  nor  ever  is  behind  ; 
and  it  is  more  than  wonderful  how  the  printing-press 
came  to  anticipate  and  satisfy  the  needs  and  yearnings 
of  the  av/akening  nations  in  their  blind  strivings  after 
the  truth  of  God  from  the  midst  of  superstition  and 
formalism,  as  they  could  not  possibly  have  been  met 
even  a  few  years  before.  The  Renaissance  and  the 
printing-press,  indeed,  may  form  a  sort  of  circle  where 
it  is  impossible  to  say  exactly  which  is  parent  and 
which  is  child  ;  and  there  are  many  such  circles  of 
grace  in  the  history  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Just 
as  the  marvellous  expansion  of  the  means  of  travel 
and  inter-communication  in  modern  times  came  when 
the  Churches  were  beginning  to  hear  anew  the  Divine 
command  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  at  once 
meeting  and  stimulating  their  new  outgoings  ;  so  the 
printing-press  came  when  the  new  sense  of  nationality 
was  moving  the  peoples  of  Europe,  and  they  were 
emerging  from  the  semi -torpor  of  the  Middle  Ages  and 
crying  out,  even  where  they  knew  not  what  they  craved, 
for  the  Living  God.  How  much  the  Reformation  owed 
to  the  printing-press,  and  how  much  the  development 
of    the    printing-press    owed    to    the    spirit    of    inquiry, 


36  PRINTING  AND   THE  NEW  LEARNING 

discovery,  and  reality,  which  was  common  to  the 
Renaissance  and  the  Reformation,  to  the  new  humanism 
and  the  new  religion,  can  never  be  determined.  But 
no  loyal  Christian  can  doubt  that  God  was  overruling 
everything  for  the  good  of  men  and  for  His  own  glory. 

This  coincidence  and  interaction  of  great  formative 
forces  becomes  all  the  more  striking  when  we  see  them 
in  the  light  of  the  other  great  change  already  alluded 
to,  the  revival  of  the  language  and  learning  of  the 
Greeks  in  the  West  ;  a  change  which  also  was  of  supreme 
importance  in  the  history  of  the  English  Bible.  The 
fall  of  Constantinople,  in  1453,  scattered  the  scholars 
who  had  had  their  home  and  their  work  there,  and 
sent  them  westward  just  three  years  before  the  first 
printed  book  appeared  in  Germany.  These  fugitives 
brought  not  only  Greek,  but  Greek  manuscripts  of  the 
Scriptures  with  them.  As  it  has  been  beautifully  ex- 
pressed, '  Greece  rose  from  the  grave  with  the  New 
'  Testament  in  her  hand  '  ;  and  the  Sovereign  Ruler 
of  all  guided  events  so  that  the  new  presses  were  not 
employed  to  perpetuate  translations  of  the  old  and 
vitiated  Latin  Vulgate  text,  but  to  scatter  the  treasures 
of  the  Scriptures  after  they  had  been  gathered  afresh 
from  the  original  sources.  So  much  was  this  the  case, 
that,  for  the  ordinary  Romanist  theologian,  Greek  became 
for  a  time  the  language  of  the  heretic. 

The  new  spiritual  strivings  which  ushered  modern 
Europe  into  being  ;  the  new  text  of  Scripture  which 
appealed  to  the  wonderful  zeal  for  letters  which  the 
New  Learning  had  evoked  ;  and  the  new  means  for 
bringing  the  world  of  books,  at  once  the  true  levellers 
and  the  true  dividers,  within  the  reach  of  all  who  could 
read  ;  all  met  in  that  wondrous  sixteenth  century  which, 
as  in  so  much  else,  was  the  determining  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  English  Bible.  It  is  all  very  wonderful 
and  impressive.  The  supply  and  demand  were  strangely 
interwoven,   and  both  alike  were  cause   and  efifect. 

One  of  the  firstfruits  of  the  New  Learning,  and  one 
of  the  epoch-making  events  in  the  history  of  the  transla- 
tion and  dissemination  of  the  Bible,  was  the  appearance 
of   the    Greek   New  Testament    under   the   editorship    of 


ERASMUS  AND   7YNDALE  37 

the  famous  Dutch  scholar  Erasmus,  the  most  outstanding^^ 
of  the  Humanists.  That  notable  work  appeared  in  15  16, 
with  a  dedication  to  Pope  Leo  X.,  who  gladly  accepted 
the  compliment,  all  unaware  as  yet  of  how  much  it  was 
to  do  for  the  consecration  of  the  New  Learning,  and  in 
claiming  the  scholars  who  studied  it  for  faith  and  freedom 
in  Christ.  Luther  in  Germany,  Zwingli  in  Switzerland, 
Tyndale  in  England,  and  Eaber  Stapulensis  in  I^rance, 
were  but  a  few  of  the  students  and  scholars  who  read 
the  New  Testament  in  that  famous  edition  ;  and  what 
it  did  for  them  was  typical  of  what  it  was  doing  among 
the  scholars  of  Western  Europe.  Many  who  read  it  in 
the  interests  of  culture  met  their  Saviour  in  its  pages. 
Some  who  came  to  it  through  curiosity  or  even  to 
criticize,  remained  to  pray. 

For  us,  however,  its  special  significance  lies  in  this — 
that   it   was   largely  through  the   influence   of  this   work) 
of  Erasmus  that  the  translation  made  by  Tyndale  was  not ' 
only   the   first    in  English   to   enjoy   the   benefits    of  the 
printing-press,   but  was  also  the  first  which  was  trans- 
lated from  the  original  tongues.     Men  were  no  longer 
dependent    on    the    Vulgate,   which    in    many    Ways    was 
not  very  reliable.;    and  the  very  appearance  of  such  ani 
edition    of    the    New   Testament    from    the   hands    of    a 
scholar  so  famous  as  Erasmus  was  an  incentive  to  the  \ 
work  of  translation  which  appealed  to  many.     He  himself  ' 
had  said  in  noble  words,  which  also  inspired  others  :    '  I 
'  long    that    the    husbandman    should    sing    portions    of 

*  Scripture     to     himself     as    he     follows     the     plough  ; 

*  that  the  weaver  should  hum  them  to  the  tune   of  his 

*  shuttle  ;     that   the   traveller  should   beguile    with   their 

*  stories  the  tedium  of  the  journey.*  This  appeal  and 
ideal  must  have  come  home  with  peculiar  power  to 
Tyndale  ;  for  when  he  was  at  Oxford,  he  had  belonged 
to  the  company  of  learned  and  godly  men  who  had 
encouraged  Erasmus  in  his  work  of  preparing  a  scholarly 
and  critical  text  of  the  New  Testament. 

It  is  significant  that  Tyndale 's  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  was  ready  within  nine  years  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Greek  edition  of  Erasmus,  just  as  it  in 
turn   had   appeared  only  nine   years   after   a   great   city 


38  PRINTING  AND   THE  NEW  lEARNING 

like  Paris  had  got  a  Greek  printing-press.  Events  moved 
rapidly  in  those  stirring  times  ;  and  it  is  cause  for  grati- 
tude that  amid  all  the  stir  which  was  caused  by  the 
Renaissance  in  the  West,  so  much  of  the  New  Learning 
was  devoted  to  the  study  and  spread  of  the  oracles  of 
the  Living  God.  Even  before  the  Greek  New  Testament 
appeared,  indeed,  as  early  as  1488,  the  entire  Hebrew 
Bible  had  been  printed  at  Soncino,  near  Cremona  ;  there 
being  only  one  text  of  the  Old  Testament,  that  in  our 
Hebrew  Bibles.  Humanism  led  some  to  intellectual 
scepticism  and  moral  indiflference  ;  but  there  were  others 
whom  it  impelled  to  search  on  until  they  found  a  more 
Vital  faith,  and  were  able  to  replace  the  religion  of 
authority   with  the  religion  of  the   Spirit. 

In  our  gratitude  for  all  they  achieved  in  the  cause  of 
the  Scriptures,  it  has  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
influence  of  the  New  Learning  was  not  all  for  good, 
any  more  than  the  printing-press  was  used  only  for  high 
and  holy  ends.  Humanism  was  often  purely  naturalistic, 
and  of  the  earth  earthy  ;  and  the  printing-press  was 
often  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  world,  the  devil, 
and  the  flesh.  Even  the  life-work  of  Erasmus  was  far 
from  being  ideal.  His  edition  of  the  New  Testament 
itself  is  far  from  being  as  perfect  as  it  might  have 
been  or  ought  to  have  been,  in  spite  of  all  its  signifi- 
cance and  the  good  fruit  it  bore.  He  himself  admitted 
that  his  version  was  a  '  precipitated  one,'  and  the  witness 
is  true .  In  order  that  he  might  anticipate  the  *  lingering 
'  volume  *  of  the  noble  Complutensian  Edition  of  Cardinal 
Ximenes,  which  was  not  published  for  some  time  after 
it  was  ready  owing  to  delay  in  obtaining  the  papal 
sanction,  he  hurried  through  his  New  Testament  in  six 
months  ;  and  according  to  the  late  Professor  A.  B. 
Davidson,  no  mean  judge,  the  evil  effects  of  that  hurry 
last  to  this   very  hour. 

From  I  5  16  to  1535,  five  editions  of  this  Greek  Testa- 
ment of  Erasmus  appeared  at  Basel  under  his  personal 
supervision  ;  but  with  all  their  value,  they  had  no  great 
pretensions  to  critical  accuracy.  In  1520  there  appeared 
the  great  Complutensian  Polyglot,  containing  not  only 
the  original  texts  of  Scripture,  but  Greek  and  Hebrew 


A    WEALTH  OF  MATERIAL 


30 


grammars  and  a  Hebrew  vocabulary  ;  subsequent  editions 
of  the  Greek  New  Testament  being  founded  for  the 
most  part  either  on  Erasmus  or  the  Complutensian,  or 
on  both.  Never  before  had  there  been  such  a  wealth 
of  material  for  rendering  the  Word  of  God  into  the 
vernacular  tongues  ;  and  so  far  as  the  English-speaking 
peoples  were  concerned,  the  time  and  the  man  were  both 
at   hand . 


Chapter   IV 
GOD'S  WORD   FOR  THE   PLOUGHBOY 


4t 


'  Read  God's  Word  diligently,  and  with  a  good  heart,  and  it  shall  teach 
thee  all  things.'— William  Tyndale 


Chapter  IV 
GOD'S    WORD    FOR   THE    PLOUGHBOY 

LIKE  Caedmon  and  Bede  and  Wiclif,  William  Tyndale 
-/  occupies  a  commanding  position  in  the  history  of 
English  literature,  as  well  as  in  the  history  of  the  English 
Bible.  His  'translation  of  the  New  Testament,  1525, 
'  fixed  our  standard  English  once  for  all,  and  brought 
'  it  finally  into  every  English  home.'  He  held  fast  to 
pure  English,  and  we  owe  our  current  religious  vocabulary 
to  him  more  than  to  any  other.  In  his  two  volumes  of 
political  tracts,  '  there  are  only  twelve  Teutonic  words 
'  which  are  now  obsolete — a  strong  proof  of  the  influence 
*  his  translation  of  the  Bible  has  had  in  preserving  the 
'  old  speech  of  England.'  Three  out  of  four  of  his 
nouns,  adverbs,  and  verbs,  are  Teutonic.  There  were 
those  in  his  time  who  declared  that  the  English  language 
was  so  rude  that  the  Bible  could  not  be  translated  into 
it  ;  and  his  reply  was  as  direct  as  it  was  indignant.  '  It 
'  is  not  so  rude  as  they  are  false  liars .  For  the  Greek 
'  tongue  agreeth  more  with  the  English  than  the  Latin  ; 
'  a  thousand  parts  better  may  it  be  translated  into  the 
'  English  than  into  the  Latin.' 

In  many  essentials  the  Authorized  Version,  when  it 
came,  was  no  more  than  a  revision  of  Tyndale's  Bible  ; 
and  if  there  is  to  be  '  honour  to  whom  honour  is  due,* 
this  must  never  be  forgotten  in  our  rejoicings  over 
all  it  has  achieved.  '  It  is  strange  to  think,'  said  Dr. 
A.  B.  Davidson,  '  that  we  are  still  reading  his  words. 
'  Many  portions  of  the  New  Testament,  in  spite  of  all 
'  the   revisions  it  has  undergone,  are  almost  Tyndale's 

43 


44  GOD'S   WORD  FOR   THE  PLOUGHBOY 

'  very    words .      In    some    of   the   shorter   books,    it   has 

*  been   calculated   that  nine -tenths   are   his  ;    while   even 

'  in  longer  epistles,  like  the  Hebrews,  five -sixths  remain 

'  unchanged.*      Or  as   Mr.   Froude  put   it,   in  a  passage 

which   can   hardly   become   hackneyed   however   often   it 

may   be   quoted  :     *  The  peculiar   genius   which  breathes 

through  the  English  Bible,  the  mingled  tenderness  and 

majesty,  the  Saxon  simplicity,  the  grandeur,  unequalled, 

unapproached,  in  the  attempted  improvements  of  modern 

scholars,    ...  all  are  here,  and  bear  the  impress  of  the 

mind  of  one  man,  and  that  man  William  Tyndale.' 

*  In  rendering  the  sacred  text,'  said  Westcott,  'he  re- 
mained throughout  faithful  to  the  instincts  of  a  scholar. 
From  first  to  last  his  style  and  his  interpretations  are 
his  own,  and  in  the  originality  of  Tyndale  is  included  in 
a  large  measure  the  originality  of  our  English  version. 
.    .    .   It  is  of  even  less  moment  that  by  far  the  greater 
part    of   his   translation   remains    intact   in   our   present 
Bibles    than    that   his    spirit   animates    the   whole.      He 
toiled   faithfully   himself,   and   where  he   failed   he   left 
to    those    who    should    come    after   him   the    secret    of 
success.     His  influence  decided  that  our  Bible  should 
be  popular  and  not  literary,  speaking  in  a  simple  dialect, 
and  that  so  by  its  simplicity  it  should  be  endowed  with 
permanence.'    According  to  the  Revisers,  the  Authorized 
Version    '  was  the   work  of  many  hands   and   of  several 
generations.'     But  *  the  foundation  was  laid  by  William 
Tyndale.     His  translation  of  the   New  Testament   was 
the  true  primary  version.     The  versions  that  followed 
were  either  substantially  reproductions  of  Tyndale's  in 
its  final  shape,  or  revisions  of  versions  that  had  been 
themselves   almost  entirely  based  on   it.' 
When  Tyndale  was  still  a  young  man,   a  tutor  in  a 
country    house,    during   a   heated   discussion   with   some 
of  the   neighbouring  priests   one  day  at  his   employer's 
table,  he  passionately  exclaimed  that  if  God  spared  his 
life,    before   many   years   he   would   cause   the   boy   who 
drove  the  plough  to  know  more  of  the  Scriptures  than 
the  Pope  knew.     It  was  a  noble  ideal  which  was  to  be 
nobly   realized,  although  he  had  to  spend  his  life  and 
at  last  lay  it  down  in  carrying  it  out.     Erasmus,  as  we 


TYNDALES  IDEAL  45 

have  seen,  had  the  same  ideal  after  his  own  fashion  ; 
but  with  Tyndale  it  was  perhaps  more  definitely  evan- 
gelical. Wiclif  had  had  it  too,  and  with  him  also  it 
was  the  desire  of  the  man  of  God  to  give  the  Good  News 
to  the  weary,  perishing  multitude,  which  was  supreme. 
These  two  great  Englishmen  both  held  that  the  Gospel 
had  its  message  for  all,  and  gave  themselves  up  to 
the  work  of  bringing  it  within  reach  of  all  in  a  form 
they  could  use  and  understand.  Nor  is  any  kind  of 
evangelism  more  permanently  fruitful  than  that  of 
bringing  men  and  women  into  touch  with  the  Saviour 
in  His  own  Word. 

For  centuries  Rome  had  kept  the  Bible  from  the 
common  people.  Even  where  there  is  no  sufficient  proof 
that  this  was  deliberately  done  in  order  that  they  might 
be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  truth,  the  fact  remains  that 
that  was  the  result  both  of  what  was  left  undone  and 
of  what  was  done.  In  England  the  ban  had  been  very 
definite.  The  seventh  of  the  Constitutions  of  Thomas 
Arundel  ordains  *  that  no  one  hereafter  translates  into 
'  the    English    tongue    or    into    any    other,    on    his    own 

*  authority,   the   text   of   Holy   Scripture,   either   by   way 

*  of  book,  or  booklet,  or  tract.'  This  was  directed 
against  Wiclif's  translation,  which  had  been  severely 
proscribed  ;    but  it   was  applied  all   round. 

The  popular  knowledge  of  Scripture  has  so  uniformly 
proved  antagonistic  to  the  doctrines  and  claims  of  Rome, 
that  it  is  not  surprising  that  she  has  never  favoured 
the  spread  of  it  ;  and  it  would  appear  that  in  proportion 
as  men  drift  towards  Rome  in  their  sympathies  and 
aspirations,  their  love  for  the  free  and  unfettered 
circulation  of  the  Bible  diminishes .  '  To  hear  the 
'  Church  was  to  hear  the  Bible  in  its  truest  and  only 
'  true  sense .  Was  it  not  an  abuse  of  the  Bible  to 
'  send  shiploads  of  copies  across  the  seas  to  convert 
'  the  nations  ?  '  is  how  one  of  those  who  in  our  own 
time  have  come  under  this  tendency,  expresses  what  is 
truly  a  striking  and  illuminating  reversion  to  type.     '  The 

*  recollection  of  these  events  should  suffice  to  prove  the 
'  mistake  of  supposing  that  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
'  without    note    or    comment,    in    the    hands    of    all,    are 


46  GOD'S    WORD  FOR   THE  PLOUGHBOY 

'  a  sufficient  guide  to  truth  ;  the  Bible  thus  used  is 
*  not  useless  only,  but  dangerous  to  morality  and  truth,* 
is  how  another  of  the  same  school  illustrates  the  same 
attitude.  Yet  another  has  it  that  'the  crucifix  should 
'  be  the  first  book  for  their  .  .  .  English  Home 
'  Missionaries'  .  .  .  disciples  ;  and  the  Holy  Scriptures 
'must  never  be  put  into  the  hands  of  unbelievers.' 
When  even  a  tendency  to  Romanism  in  the  twentieth 
century  gives  rise  to  such  sentiments,  there  need  be 
no  suggestion  that  it  is  ungenerous  to  hold  that 
undiluted  Romanism  in  the  fifteenth  century  did  not 
encourage   men   to   read  the   Bible   for  themselves. 

The  unwillingness  of  the  Mediaeval  Church  to  put 
God's  Word  in  the  vernacular  into  the  hands  of  the 
people,  based  as  it  was  on  the  theory  that  they  ought  to 
receive  the  Divine  message  through  the  priests,  would 
have  had  greater  justification  of  a  sort  if  the  priests 
themselves  had  known  the  Scriptures  or  loved  them  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  able  to  expound  them.  But  the 
notorious  Bishop  of  Dunkeld  who  boasted  of  his 
ignorance  of  Scripture  was  probably  not  singular  in 
his  ignorance  ;  nor  were  the  priests  in  the  diocese  of 
Gloucester  even  in  the  Reformation  era,  who  did  not 
know  accurately  the  Creed,  or  the  Commandments, 
or  the  Lord's  Prayer,  alone  in  their  incapacity.  That 
such  blind  leaders  of  the  blind  should  set  themselves 
to  stand  between  the  people  and  God's  message  for 
them  was  indeed  intolerable. 

It  is  full  of  significance  that  early  in  the  conflict 
which  ended  in  the  English  Reformation  a  new  impor- 
tance began  to  be  put  on  the  study  of  the  Scriptures. 
Not  only  was  the  spirit  of  inquiry  abroad,  but  the 
printing-press  was  at  work  to  stimulate  and  satisfy  it. 
Not  a  few  of  those  in  power  in  the  English  Church 
shared  in  the  new  spirit  ;  while  many  who  did  not 
share  in  it  saw  that  it  could  not  be  altogether  ignored 
or  defied.  In  the  first  set  of  Injunctions  to  the  clergy, 
issued  in  1536,  they  were  enjoined  to  give  themselves 
to  the  study  of  the  Bible  ;  while  in  the  second  set, 
issued  two  years  later,  they  were  enjoined  to  provide 
'  one   whole   Bible   of   the   largest   volume   in    English/' 


THE    WITNESS  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST         47 

and  to  put  it  in  the  church  where  the  parishioners  could 
most  easily  read  it.  That  was  the  plan  adopted  by 
those  who  wished  to  meet  the  new  strivings  without  any 
drastic  reform,  and  above  all  without  any  breach  with 
the  See  of  Rome.  Inevitably,  however,  it  only  increased 
the  longings  of  the  earnest  and  truth -loving  for  changes 
such  as  Rome  at  her  best  could  never  allow. 

All  the  Reformers  believed  that  in  the  Scriptures  God 
spoke  to  them,  as  in  earlier  days  He  had  spoken  to 
His  prophets  and  apostles.  In  describing  the  authorita- 
tive character  of  Scripture,  however,  they  always  insisted 
that  its  recognition  was  awakened  in  believers  by  that 
operation  which  they  called  *  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
'  Ghost.'  Their  description  of  what  they  meant  by  the 
Holy  Scriptures  is  just  another  aspect  of  their  doctrine 
that  all  believers  have  access  to  the  very  presence  of 
God.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  a  man  like  Tyndale 
should  set  himself  to  put  even  the  ploughboy  in 
possession  of  God's  Word  in  his  mother  tongue.  That 
was  the  ploughboy 's  birthright,  what  he  was  entitled 
to  as  made  at  first  in  the  Divine  likeness  ;  and  this 
was  recognized  by  men  of  Tyndale's  spirit  in  other 
lands,  so  that  translations  into  the  vernacular  began 
to  appear  in  Germany,  Denmark,  Holland,  France,  Italy, 
and  Spain,  as  well  as  in  England.  As  for  those  who 
were  hostile  to  all  this,  it  could  not  but  be  assumed 
that  they  who  objected  to  the  ploughboy  entering  into 
his  inheritance  had  never  found  the  Word  very  vital 
or  inspiring  for  themselves,  and  had  never  bowed  to 
its  supremacy  over  all  human  tradition  and  everything 
else  which  the  ecclesiastics  had  put  in  its  place. 

Scholar  as  he  was,  it  was  Tyndale's  ambition  to  give 
his  countrymen  an  English  version  which  would  be  more 
than  a  translation  of  a  translation,  and  would  render 
the  sacred  Oracles  into  their  tongue  direct  from  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  originals,  which  were  now  at  length 
available  for  such  a  purpose.  This  ambition  he  was 
able  happily  to  realize,  and  although  much  of  his  work 
was  done  while  he  was  a  fugitive  and  concealed  in 
secret  hiding-places,  it  is  of  the  very  highest  quality, 
as   has   already   been   shown   from   the   mouth   of   many 


48  GOUS    WORD  FOR   THE  PLOUGHBOY 

witnesses.  There  was  no  royal  patronage  or  historic 
Jerusalem  Chamber,  nor  any  groups  of  sympathetic  and 
competent  colleagues  for  him  ;  yet  no  other  worker 
in  this  field  has  left  his  impress  on  all  subsequent  work 
as  he  did,  and  what  he  did  can  never  become  obsolete.  In 
one  sense  his  work  was  actually  destroyed  Of  the  original 
3,000  quarto  volumes  of  his  New  Testament  only  one 
mutilated  fragment  remains,  and  now  lies  in  the  British 
Museum.  Of  the  first  3,000  octavo  copies  only  two 
are  now  known  to  exist.  Yet  his  work  remains  all  the 
same,  and  will  remain  for  ever.  At  the  very  time  when 
he  was  dying  for  his  loyalty  to  Scripture,  in  a  foreign 
land,  laying  down  his  life  that  the  ploughboy  might 
come  to  his  own,  a  complete  edition  of  his  Bible  for 
which  the  royal  licence  was  ere  long  to  be  obtained 
was  actually  being  prepared,  and  about  to  be  freely 
scattered  abroad. 

All  who  have  ever  taken  any  part  in  continuing  what 
he  began  have  been  impressed  by  the  splendour  of  his 
inauguration  of  the  work.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
day  of  victory,  but  the  dawn  was  at  hand  when  he 
passed  away.  There  is  no  grander  figure  than  that 
of  William  Tyndale  in  all  the  English  Reformation 
story  ;  and  in  connection  with  the  Tercentenary  of  the 
Authorized  Version  no  name  should  be  more  gratefully 
remembered  and  reverenced  than  his.  Its  triumphs  are 
in  reality  his.  In  a  very  real  sense  it  is  no  more 
than  his  version  revised,  as  those  who  have  shared  in 
one  revision  after  another  rejoice  to  proclaim. 

After  he  had  begun  his  great  work,  Tyndale  soon 
found  that  there  was  no  room  in  England  for  what 
he  was  doing  ;  and  therefore  he  crossed  to  the  Continent 
and  finished  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament  at 
Hamburg.  While  it  was  being  printed  at  Cologne,  he 
discovered  that  the  authorities  were  about  to  seize  it  ; 
and  with  such  sheets  as  were  ready  he  fled  to  Worms, 
where  it  was  ultimately  published  in  .1525.  The  new 
volume,  so  fraught  with  significance,  first  reached 
England  in  1526.  Every  effort  was  put  forth  by  those 
in  power  to  suppress  it  ;  and  it  had  to  be  smuggled 
into  the  country,  where,  however,  there  was  no  lack  of 


TYNDALES  FIDELITY  49 

purchasers.  It  was  read  in  all  sorts  of  places  and  under 
all  kinds  of  circumstances  ;  read  by  merchants,  workmen, 
and  scholars.  Copies  were  bought  up  by  its  enemies, 
in  the  hope  that  the  whole  impression  might  be 
destroyed  ;  but  the  effect  of  that  was  that  Tyndale  was 
enabled  to  print  further  improved  copies,  and  to 
encourage  him  to  go  on  with  the  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament . 

In  the  year  1530,  his  New  Testament  was  publicly 
burned  in  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  after  it  had  been 
condemned  at  a  Council  summoned  by  King  Henry  VIII. 
Sir  Thomas  More,  with  extreme  bitterness,  attacked  it 
as  misleading  and  inaccurate  ;  not,  however,  in  reality, 
because  the  work  had  not  been  well  done,  but  because 
to  him  the  rendering  of  certain  words  and  phrases  with 
scholarly  exactness  seemed  *  a  mischievous  perversion 
*  of  those  writings  intended  to  advance  heretical 
'  opinions.'  Tyndale's  fidelity,  however,  alike  to  scholar- 
ship and  truth  was  not  only  vindicated  at  the  time  by 
himself,  but  has  been  still  more  amply  vindicated 
throughout  the  ages  ;  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest  has 
ensured  the  survival  of  what  he  did  so  nobly,  so 
devotedly,  and  so  prayerfully. 

In  doing  his  work  he  made  use  of  every  available 
help  ;  the  Vulgate,  the  new  Latin  Version  of  Erasmus,  and 
Luther's  German  Bible.  But  he  translated  directly  from 
the  text  of  the  Greek  Version  of  Erasmus.  As  regards 
his  work  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  has  been  denied  that 
he  was  a  Hebrew  scholar  ;  but  in  his  last  days  we 
find  him  writing  from  prison  pleading  to  be  allowed 
to  have  his  Hebrew  Bible,  grammar,  and  dictionary, 
that  he  might  spend  his  time  in  that  study.  An  eminent 
German  scholar,  too,  Herman  Buschius  by  name,  described 
him  as  '  so  skilled  in  seven  languages,  Hebrew,  Greek, 
•  Latin,  Italian,  Spanish,  English,  French,  that  which- 
'  ever  he  spoke  you  would  suppose  it  his  native 
'tongue';    and  this  testimony  does  not  stand  alone. 

In  the  year  1534,  Tyndale  published  a  revised  version 

of  his   New   Testament  with  marginal   notes  ;    and   two 

later    editions    are    thought    to    bear    traces    of    further; 

revision  by  himself.      Before  he  died,   seven  editions — 

£ 


so  GOnS    WORD  FOR   THE  PLOUGHBOY 

each  representing  several  thousand  copies — had  been 
issued;  and  there  were  'pirated'  editions  besides. 
At  least  thirty -three  editions,  practically  reprints  of  his, 
are  known  to  have  appeared  before  1560.  He  was 
not,  however,  spared  to  translate  and  issue  the  whole 
Bible.  The  Pentateuch  was  issued  by  him  in  1530, 
and  before  he  died  he  had  got  as  far  as  Chronicles  with 
his  work.  The  very  year  after  his  death,  there  appeared 
what  was  called  Matthew's  Bible,  but  which  was  in  reality 
Tyndale's.  It  contained  his  New  Testament  revised, 
and  his  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  so  far  as  he 
had  carried  it.  The  remainder  of  the  Old  Testament 
was  taken  from  Coverdale's  Bible,  which  had  appeared 
shortly  before,  and  was  actually  the  first  printed  version 
of  the  whole  Bible  in  English.  It,  however,  was  not 
a  translation  from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek,  like  Tyndale's  ; 
but  from  the  Latin  and  German.  In  Matthew's  Bible 
the  Apocrypha  was  taken  from  a  French  translation  ; 
and  as  that  was  the  Bible  which  was  by  and  by 
sanctioned  by  the  King,  it  may  be  described  as  the 
first  Authorized  Version.  That  it  did  not  appear  under 
his  name,  although  so  much  of  it  was  his  work,  would 
nowise  have  distressed  Tyndale.  It  was  not  his  own 
glory  he  sought,  but  the  glory  of  his  Saviour  and  the 
well-being  of  men  ;  and  it  was  enough  for  him  that 
the  ploughboy  and  all  others  who  cared  to  read  it  had 
now  the  Word  of  God  in  their  own  tongue  and  in  their 
own  hands. 


Chapter  V 
A   RUSH   OF  TRANSLATIONS 


'  But  whosoever  thou  be  that  readest  Scripture,  let  the  Holy  Ghost  be 
thy  teacher,  and  let  one  text  expound  another  unto  thee.  As  for  such 
dreams,  visions,  and  dark  sentences  as  be  hid  from  thy  understanding, 
commit  them  unto  God,  and  make  no  articles  of  them  ;  but  let  the  plain 
text  be  thy  guide,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  (which  is  the  author  thereof)  shall 
lead  thee  in  all  truth.' — Miles  Coverdale. 


Chapter  v; 
A    RUSH    OF.    TRANSLATIONS 

IF  England  in  Spenser's  days  was  '•  a  nest  of  singing 
*  birds  '  ;  in  the  days  of  Tyndale  it  was  the  home  of 
scholars  who  laid  their  gifts  and  graces  on  the  altar 
for  the  translation  and  dissemination  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. In  the  years  after  Tyndale  led  the  way  so 
splendidly,  translations  came  in  like  a  flood.  Almost  all 
of  them,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  were  based  on  his 
work — all  of  them,  indeed,  which  were  of  real  impor- 
tance— and  they  are  often  closely  connected  with  each 
other  ;  being  for  the  most  part  revisions  rather  than 
distinct  translations. 

In  the  year  1534,  Archbishop  Cranmer,  a  true  friend 
of  the  Evangel,  persuaded  Convocation  to  petition  for  an 
English  version  of  the  Bible  ;  and  in  the  following 
year,  Thomas  Cromwell,  likewise  a  true  friend  of  faith' 
and  freedom,  persuaded  Miles  Coverdale  to  undertake  the 
work.  The  outcome  was  what  is  usually  called  Cover- 
dale's  Bible,  and  sometimes  also  the  Treacle  Bible, 
because  of  its  translation  of  Jeremiah  8.  22,  'Is  there  no 
*  triacle  in  Gilead?'  It  was  issued  on  October  4,  1535, 
with  a  dedication  to  King  Henry  and  Queen  Anne,  which 
was  afterwards  changed  as  the  royal  consorts  changed. 
Important  as  it  is,  however,  as  the  first  complete  Bible 
printed  in  the  English  language,  it  can  hardly  be 
admitted  to  be  in  the  full  line  of  the  true  apostolic 
succession.  It  was  not  based  on  a  study  of  the  originals, 
but  on  the  Vulgate  and  on  Luther's  German  Bible,  three 

volumes  of  which  were  printed  in   1524  and  the  remain- 

53 


54  A  RUSH  OF  TRANSLATIONS 

ing  two  in  1532,  and  which  was  now  pursuing  its 
triumphant  career. 

'  To   help   me,'   he  said,    '  herein   I   have   had  sundry 

*  translations   not   only   in  Latin,  but   also   of  the   Dutch 

*  interpreters,  whom  because  of  their  singular  gifts,  and 
'  special   diligence   in  the  Bible,   I   have  been  the   more 

*  glad  to  follow  for  the  most  part.'  But  although  a 
translation  from  the  Vulgate  had  been  a  great  achieve- 
ment in  Wiclif's  day,  when  no  better  text  was  available, 
it  was  far  otherwise  at  a  time  when  Tyndale  was  showing 
every  scholar  the  better  path.  The  1537  edition  of 
Coverdale's  Bible  bore  the  announcement  '  set  forth  with 
'  the  King's  most  gracious  license.'  Because  of  this, 
as  well  as  because  of  its  intrinsic  worth,  it  had  a  large 
circulation.  Its  circulation  was  also  helped  by  the  fact 
that  it  was  used  at  first  by  the  clergy  in  their  obedience 
to  the  injunction  to  put  a  copy  of  the  English  Bible 
in  a  prominent  place  in   every   church. 

In  the  year  1537,  there  appeared  what  is  known  as 
Matthew's  Bible,  which  has  already  been  described  as 
being  practically  Tyndale's.  Matthew  was  in  reality  John 
Rogers,  who  was  the  first  martyr  in  Queen  Mary's  reign. 
The  pseudonym  may  have  been  adopted  to  withdraw 
attention  from  the  fact  that  his  Bible  was  so  largely 
Tyndale's,  his  writings  having  been  condemned  by  the 
authorities.  Rogers  was  a  friend  of  Tyndale  ;  his 
literary  executor  in  fact.  His  Bible  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  first  Authorized  Version,  although  later 
on  in  the  same  year  the  second  edition  of  Coverdale's 
also  appeared  with  the  royal  licence.  It  contained 
numerous  notes  and  woodcuts,  as  well  as  a  considerable 
amount  of  matter  resembling  modern  '  Bible  Helps.'  If 
we  take  Tyndale's  version  as  the  standard  and  starting- 
point,  as  we  should,  this  may  be  taken  as  the  first 
revision  of  it. 

Ir^  i539j  there  appeared  what  is  known  as  Taverner's 
Bible,  the  work  of  Richard  Taverner,  another  scholarly 
friend  of  the  truth.  Less  is  known  of  his  version  than 
of  any  other  in  that  era  of  versions  ;  but  it  may  be 
noted  that  in  1549,  an  edition  of  it  was  published  in 
five   small   volumes,   for  the   convenience   of   those   who 


THE   GREAT  BIBLE  55 

were  unable  to  purchase  an  entire  Bible  at  one  time. 
Like  its  predecessors,  it  had  notes,  which  were,  however, 
less  polemical  than  those  in  Matthew's  Bible,  some  of 
which  were  vehemently  anti -Roman. 

In  the  same  year  as  Taverner's,  there  appeared  what 
has  ever  since  been  known  as  the  Great  Bible,  because 
of  its  size,  and  which  may  be  taken  as  the  second  revision 
in  the  Tyndale  succession.  Its  pages  are  fifteen  inches 
in  length  and  more  than  nine  in  breadth.  It  is  also 
known  as  Cranmer's,  because  of  the  preface  which  he 
wrote  to  the  second  edition  ;  as  Cromwell's,  because  he 
had  most  to  do  with  its  preparation  ;  and  in  the  royal 
instructions  to  the  translators  of  the  Authorized  Version, 
as  Whitchurch's,  from  the  name  of  one  of  the  printers. 
By  a  royal  proclamation  made  during  one  of  the  high 
tides  when  the  study  of  Scripture  was  approved  by 
the  authorities,  a  copy  of  this  Bible  was  ordered  to  be 
put  in  every  church.  In  some  cases  they  were  chained 
to  desks  ;  and  a  few  of  these  '  chained  Bibles  '  have  been 
preserved  in  some  old  churches.  This  version  was  due 
to  the  desire  of  Cromwell  and  Cranmer,  and  their  friends, 
to  have  an  English  Bible  which  might  become  national 
like  Luther's  translation  into  German.  It  is  probable 
also,  and  in  no  way  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  contro- 
versial notes  in  Matthew's  Bible  were  held  to  disqualify 
it  for  this  great  position.  Coverdale  was  again  appealed 
to  for  this  new  service  and  he  was  assisted  by  '  divers 
'  excellent  learned  men,'  of  whose  names,  however,  there 
is  no  record. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Great  Bible  is  little  more  than 
a  revision  of  Matthew's  revision.  When  it  appeared 
it  had  a  wonderful  reception.  Crowds  gathered  round 
the  copies  in  the  churches,  one  reading  while  the  rest 
listened  or  discussed  or  even  wrangled.  Bishop  Bonner 
complained  that  the  Bible  had  become  more  attractive 
than  the  Service,  and  threatened  to  have  it  removed. 
Before  1541,  seven  large  editions  of  the  Great  Bible 
were  sold  in  addition  to  many  issues  of  the  earlier  ver- 
sions, which  likewise  held  on  their  way  ;  and  although 
there  was  a  reaction  against  the  circulation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures  during  the  later  years   of  Henry  VIII.,   the   short 


56  A  RUSH  OF  TRANSLATIONS 

reign  of  hi§  son  saw  at  least  thirteen  new  editions'  io'f 
the  Bible,  and  thirty -five  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
Great  Bible  still  lives  in  the  Psalms  in  the  Prayer  Book, 
and  in  the  '  Comfortable  Words  '  in  the  Communion 
Service  of  the   Church  of  England. 

In  the  year  i  5  60,  yet  another  version  appeared  which 
wais  destined  to  play  a  great  part  in  the  stirring  times 
which  were  at  hand  ;  and  which  may  be  taken  as  the 
third  revision  of  Tyndale's  work.  This  was  what  is 
known  as  the  Geneva  Bible,  from  the  city  where  it  was 
prepared.  It  is  also  known  as  the  Breeches  Bible  from 
its  rendering  of  Genesis  3.7".  *  And  they  sewed  fig-leaves 
'  together,  and  made  themselves  breeches .'  It  has 
several  features  which  commended  it  for  popular  use, 
and  it  became  the  Bible  of  the  people  as  no  other  version 
did  until  the  Authorized  Version  appeared.  Not  the 
least  of  its  attractions  were  its  sturdy,  lucid  notes  ;  and 
in  1 649  ah  edition  of  the  Authorized  Version  was  brought 
out  with  these  Genevan  notes  appended.  Fuller  says 
that  when  they  were  finally  withdrawn,  the  people  com- 
plained that  *  they  could  not  see  into  the  sense  of  the 
'  Scriptures  for  lack  of  the  spectacles  of  the  Genevan 
'annotations.*  Indeed,  as  late  as  18 10,  an  edition  of 
the  Authorized  Version  appeared  with  '  short  notes  by 
'  several  learned  and  pious  Reformers,'  which  were 
virtually  the  old  Genevan  notes  formerly  so  much  prized. 

Other  attractions  of  this  Geneva  version  were  the 
adoption  of  Roman  type  instead  of  the  black  letter  in 
which  all  English  Bibles  had  previously  been  printed, 
and  the  division  of  the  chapters  into  verses.  The  use 
of  italics  was  also  introduced  to  indicate  those  words 
not  in  the  original,  which  had  been  supplied  in  the 
translation  to  suit  the  English  idiom.  They  were,  how- 
ever, often  introduced  where  they  were  not  required, 
since  the  words  supplied  were  involved  in  the  original 
if  not  actually  expressed.  The  division  into  verses,  so 
far  as  the  New  Testament  was  concerned,  had  been  made 
by  Robert  Stephen,  the  French  printer,  for  his  Greek  New 
Testament  of  T551  ;  but  with  all  its  convenience,  it 
sometimes  interferes  with  the  sense,  and  is  often  very 
arbitrary.     The  division  into  chapters  had  appeared  as 


THE   GENEVA  BIBLE  57 

early  as  Wiclif's  time,  and  was  used  by  him.  Some 
ascribe  it  to  Cardinal  Hugo,  and  others  to  Langton, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  It  also  is  sometimes  done 
without  discrimination,  especially  in  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul.  ! 

The  Geneva  Bible  unquestionably  stands  next  to  the 
Authorized  Version  alike  for  its  historical  importance,  and 
for  its  accuracy  and  scholarship .  Among  those  who  shared 
in  its  preparation  were  William  Whittingham,  whose  New 
Testament  has  a  place  in  the  succession,  Thomas 
Sampson,  and  Anthony  Gilby,  along  with  Cole,  Goodman, 
Coverdale,  and  others,  who,  like  Paul  in  the  Roman 
prison  and  Luther  in  the  Wartburg,  turned  their  enforced 
leisure  to  good  account.  It  is  unlikely  that  John  Knox 
took  part  in  the  work,  as  has  sometimes  been  claimed. 
Its  version  of  the  Apocrypha,  which  it  is  frequently 
said  to  have  omitted,  was  largely  influenced  by  a  French 
translation  due  to  Beza.  In  the  original  edition  there 
was  a  good  Bible  index,  a  series  of  maps,  and  much 
other  prefatory  and  helpful  matter,  along  with  its  admir- 
able notes.  For  sixty  years  it  was  the  most  popular 
version  in  England  and  Scotland,  at  least  one  hundred 
and  fifty  editions  of  it  having  been  issued  ;  some  say 
as  many  as  two  hundred.  In  one  year,  1599,  no  fewer 
than  ten  large  editions  were  printed.  It  was  the  only 
serious  rival  the  Authorized  Version  encountered,  and  was 
the  favourite  version  of  the  Puritans.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  it  left  the  authorship  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
an  open  question.  The  name  of  Paul  is  not  only  omitted, 
but  it  is  argued  in  a  prefatory  note  that  '  seeing  the 
*  Spirit  of  God  is  the  Author  thereof,  it  diminisheth 
'  nothing  the  authority,  although  we  know  not  with  what 
'  pen   He   wrote   it.' 

The  fourth  and  final  revision  of  Tyndale's  work,  prior 
to  161 1,  was  the  Bishops'  Bible,  which  appeared  in 
I  568.  It  was  due  to  the  desire  of  Parker,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  others  to  provide  a  version  which 
would  rival  the  Geneva  Bible  in  popular  favour,  and 
be  free  from  the  Calvinism  which  characterized  so  many 
of  its  pithy  notes .  *  Its  mischievous  glosses  '  were 
thought   to   be    '  undermining  the   Church   of   England.' 


58  A  HUSH  OF  TRANSLATIONS 

The  Bishops'  Bible  was  the  work  of  Anglican  divines, 
mostly  bishops  as  the  name  indicates  ;  but  it  is  said 
to  be  *  the  most  unsatisfactory  and  useless  of  the  old 
'translations.'  It  was  so  expensive  as  to  be  practically 
inaccessible  to  the  people,  and  it  did  not  commend  itself 
to  scholars.  It  held  its  place  as  long  as  it  did  because 
it  took  the  place  of  the  Great  Bible  in  the  services  of 
the  Church,  and  was  the  only  version  recognized  by 
Convocation.  As  early  as  1571,  Convocation  ordered 
a  folio  copy  to  be  placed  in  the  hall  or  dining-room 
of  every  Bishop,  for  the  use  of  his  servants  ;  and  also 
that  each  church  should  be  supplied  with  this  version. 
The  Puritans,  however,  never  acknowledged  its  authority 
or  made  much  use  of  it. 

The  only  other  version  which  falls  to  be  mentioned 
is  that  issued  by  the  Roman  Catholics  ;  and  as  it,  like 
Coverdale's,  was  not  derived  from  the  original  tongues, 
it  likewise  is  not  in  the  apostolic  succession  but  is  of 
secondary  importance,  although  it  played  its  part  in 
the  final  result  in  161 1.  It  was  prepared  by  the  scholars 
of  the  English  seminary  at  Douai,  who  hoped,  by  the 
use  of  appropriate  ecclesiastical  terms  and  the  addition 
of  notes  on  Romish  lines,  to  guard  readers  against  error. 
The  New  Testament  was  issued  at  Rheims  in  1582,  and 
the  Old  Testament  at  Douai  in  1609  ;  and  the  work 
is  spoken  of  as  the  Rhemish,  or  as  the  Rheims  and 
Douai  version.  It  professed  to  be  based  on  a  greater 
respect  for  the  Septuagint,  the  Vulgate,  and  other  ancient 
translations  than  previous  English  versions  ;  it  being 
roundly  declared  that  the  Latin  version  had  been  made 
before  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  texts  had  been  '  foully 
'  corrupted  by  Jews  and  heretics.'  It  was  very  deficient 
in  purity  of  English  diction  ;  but  since  1750  it  has 
been  brought  nearer  the  Authorized  Version  ;  and  since 
then  its  notes  have  also  been  fewer  in  number.  The 
late  Lord  Bute  said  that  it  did  not  commend  itself  to  the 
English  ear  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged that  many  of  the  felicities  of  our  Authorized 
Version  a^e  due  to  it,  and  that  many  of  its  theological 
terms,  such  as  propitiation,  victim,  remission,  and  impeni- 
tent, were  adopted  by  King  James's  translators. 


ALL  REVISIONS  OF  TYNDALES  59 

So  the  good  work  of  revision  and  translation  went 
on  in  a  fashion  which  makes  it  all  the  more  remarkable 
that  for  nearly  two  centuries  and  three-quarters  after 
161 1;  no  further  revision  was  seriously  attempted.  The 
truth  is  that,  so  far  as  the  English  of  the  Authorized 
Version  is  concerned,  these  frequent  revisions  had  made 
it  such  that  no  further  revision  on  that  score  could  have 
been  seriously  proposed  ;  such  had  been  the  satisfactory 
result  of  the  various  revisions  of  the  work  done  by 
Tyndale.  Had  it  not  been  that  valuable  manuscripts 
and  versions  unknown  or  unavailable  in  the  seventeenth 
century  had  come  to  light  and  had  been  so  collated 
that  scholars  became  increasingly  able  to  arrive  at  a 
text  far  nearer  the  original  than  was  possible  three 
centuries  ago,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  Authorized 
Version  would  not  only  still  have  been  reigning  among 
the  English-speaking  peoples,  but  would  have  been  reign- 
ing without  a  rival.  But  as  the  revisers  of  161 1  them- 
selves asked,  *  To  whom  was  it  ever  imputed  for  a  failing 
'  (by  such  as  were  wise)  to  go  over  that  which  he  had 
'  done,  and  to  amend  it  where  he  saw  cause  ?  '  Reverence 
for  God's  Word,  loyalty  to  the  eternal  verities,  and  patient 
pressing  on  in  the  fullest  light  we  have  to  Him  who 
is  the  Light,  all  involve  a  readiness  to  revise  whenever 
the  need  for  revision  really  comes. 


Chapter  VI 
THE   BIBLE   IN    PRE-REFORMATION   SCOTLAND 


'  Happy,  and  thrice  happy,  hath  our  English  nation  been,  since  God 
hath  given  learned  translators  to  express  in  our  mother  tongue  the  heavenly 
mysteries  of  His  Holy  Word,  delivered  to  His  Church  in  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  languages ;  who  although  they  have,  in  some  matters  of  no  impor- 
tance unto  salvation,  as  men  been  deceived  ;  yet  have  they  faithfully 
delivered  the  whole  substance  of  the  heavenly  doctrine  contained  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures.'— Dr.  Fulke. 


Chapter  VI 
THE    BIBLE    IN     PRE-REFORMATION    SCOTLAND 

SURPRISE  has  been  expressed,  and  naturally  so, 
that  in  Pre -Reformation  Scotland  no  attempt  was 
ever  made  to  translate  the  Bible  into  the  Scots  dialect, 
which  even  as  a  literary  medium  was  then  different 
from  English.  For  not  only  were  religious  strivings 
as  keen  in  the  northern  kingdom  as  in  the  southern, 
and  the  Reformation  more  thoroughgoing  when  it  came  ; 
there  was  a  great  demand  for  English  Bibles  among 
the  Scots  whenever  these  were  available.  It  makes  the 
triumphs  of  the  Bible  in  Scotland  all  the  more  remark- 
able, however,  that  it  moved  Scotsmen  so  mightily  even 
when  they  read  it  in  a  dialect  different  from  their  own  ; 
and  nowhere  were  its  triumphs  greater  or  more  enduring. 
In  spite  of  the  constant  feuds  between  Scotland  and 
England  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  equally 
constant  friendship  between  Scotland  and  France,  there 
was  at  times  a  considerable  amount  of  intellectual  and 
religious  intercourse  between  the  neighbour  kingdoms. 
In  the  year  1365,  for  example,  when  Wiclif's  influence 
was  at  its  greatest  in  Oxford,  no  fewer  than  eighty- 
one  students  from  Scotland  were  provided  with  safe- 
conducts  to  enable  them  to  go  South  to  prosecute  their 
studies  at  the  University  there.  That  meant  that  at 
the  very  time  when  Oxford  was  seething  with  Lollardy, 
Scotland  was  in  closest  touch  with  it  ;  and  that  the 
teachings  of  the  great  thinker  and  reformer  were  brought 
to  the  North  by  those  who  had  both  the  will  and  the 
power  to  commend  them .  For,  naturally,  it  was  the  young 
and  eager  spirits  of  the  time  who  came  most  under 
Wiclif's  influence.  Copies  of  his  translation  of  the 
Scriptures    seem   also    to   have    reached   Scotland  ;     and 

63 


64  PRE-REFORMATION  SCOTLAND 

this  leaven  never  ceased  to  operate  there  any  more  than 
in  England,  although  of  necessity  it  wrought  for  the 
most  part  unseen  of  men. 

One  of  the  outstanding  names  in  Scottish  Church 
annals  is  that  of  Reseby,  who  came  North  to  spread 
the  Gospel  light  ;  and  in  telling  of  his  martyrdom  jn 
1408,  the  Abbot  of  Inchcolm  laments  that  the  books  of 
Wiclif  were  possessed  by  several  Lollards  in  Scotland, 
and  kept  with  '  devilish  secrecy.'  A  fate  like  that  of 
Reseby  is  said  to  have  befallen  another  Lollard  at 
Glasgow  about  1422  ;  in  all  probability  the  Scottish 
Wiclifite  whose  letter  to  his  bishop  was,  not  long  since, 
unearthed  in  a  Hussite  manuscript  at  Vienna. 

At  the  very  close  of  the  same  century,  too,  we  meet 
one  Campbell  of  Cessnock  and  his  noble  wife,  who 
had  a  priest  at  home  '  who  read  the  New  Testament 
'  to  them  in  their  vernacular  '  ;  and  who,  when  actually  at 
the  stake,  were  spared,  because  the  King  was  kindlier 
than  the  ecclesiastics.  There  are  few  Scottist  writers 
of  that  period  who  fail  to  tell  also  of  the  Lollards 
of  Kyle  and  their  interview  with  King  James  ;  and  of 
the  persistence  of  their  doctrines  in  that  region  till  the 
dawn  of  the  Reformation.  That  every  Master  of  Arts 
in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews  had,  by  an  enactment 
dated  141 6,  to  take  an  oath  to  defend  the  Church 
against  the  Lollards  ;  and  that  the  Scottish  Parliament 
in  1425  enjoined  that  every  bishop  should  make  inquiry 
against  heretics  and  Lollards,  shows  clearly  enough  that 
the  truth  was  manifesting  its  influence.  Then  in 
Wolsey's  time  we  find  an  agent  of  the  Cardinal  informing 
him  that  Scottish  merchants  were  sending  copies  of 
Tyndale's  New  Testament  home  from  the  Low 
Countries . 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Scottish  Parliament  as 
such  ever  explicitly  prohibited  the  use  of  the  Scriptures 
in  the  vernacular  by  the  people  ;  but  as  soon  as  the 
English  New  Testament  began  to  appear  in  Tyndale's 
time,  the  Scottish  bishops  prohibited  its  being  read, 
and  did  everything  in  their  power  to  prevent  its  getting 
into  the  country.  The  laity  were  once  more  assured  that 
it  was  their  part  to  hear  the  law  of  God  and  the  Gospel 


CRIES  OF  HERESY  65 

of  Christ  from  the  mouth  of  the  priest,  rather  than 
to  read  them  at  home  with  wicked  contention,  to  the 
destruction  of  themselves  and  others.  Sir  David 
Lyndsay   makes    Flattery   say   to   Verity  : — 

'Quhat  buik  is  that,  harlot,  into  thy  hand? 
Out,  Walloway  !  this  is  the  New  Test'ment, 
In  Englisch  toung,  and  printed  in  England  : 
Herisie,  herisie  !  fire,  fire  !  incontinent.' 

But  cries  of  heresy,  like  all  the  other  cries  of  the 
obscurantists,  were  now  in  vain.  The  time-spirit  and 
the  printing-press  were  too  mighty  for  them.  Copies 
of  the  Scriptures  were  smuggled  into  the  country  with 
every  ship  that  came  to  Leith,  and  were  eagerly 
purchased  and  read  by  those  who  shared  in  the  new 
spirit  of  inquiry  which  was  abroad,  and  which  in  so  many 
cases  grew  out  of  a  great  heart -longing  for  forgive- 
ness of  sins  and  the  favour  of  God.  John  Knox  tells 
that  Henry  Forrest  suffered  for  having  '  ane  New  Testa - 
'  ment  in  Engliss  '  ;  while  one  of  the  charges  on  which 
Cardinal  Beaton  condemned  Sir  John  Borthwick  in  1540 
was  that  he  had  a  New  Testament  in  English  in  his 
possession.  Five  persons,  too,  were  burned  on  the 
Castle  Hill  of  Edinburgh  on  March  i,  1539,  apparently 
for  no  other  crime  than  that  they  '  did  not  hesitate 
'  to  study  the  books  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
'Testaments.'  All  through,  however,  it  is  the  New 
Testament  in  English  and  not  in  Scots  of  which  we 
hear  from  foes  and  friends  alike.  It  is  due  to  the 
memory  of  Alesius,  or  Alane — a  great  Scotsman  who 
is  not  nearly  so  well  known  as  he  ought  to  be — to 
mention  that  he  was  the  first  to  plead  publicly,  about 
the  year  1535,  before  the  authorities  of  the  nation, 
for  the  right  of  every  household  and  every  individual 
to  have  access  to  the  Word  of  God  in  the  vernacular  ; 
and  therefore  '  the  man  who  struck  the  first  note  in 
'  giving  a  tone  to  that  character  '  for  which  his 
country  has  often  been  commended  as  Bible -loving 
Scotland, 

In  his  great  work  on  the  Reformation,  Principal 
Lindsay  says  that  '  in  1520,  Purvey 's  revision  of  Wiclif's 

F 


66  PRE-REFORMATION  SCOTLAND 

'  New  Testament  was  rendered  into  Scots  by  Murdoch 
'  Nisbet,  and  has  recently  been  published  by  the  Scottish 
'  Text  Society  '  ;  but  this  seems  to  have  been  personal 
to  Nisbet,  and  not  a  national  affair.  John  Nisbet,  who 
was  hanged  in  the  Grassmarket  in  Edinburgh  in  1685, 
for  his  adherence  to  the  Covenant,  told  how  his 
ancestor  Murdoch  Nisbet  joined  the  Lollards  before  the 
year  1500,  and  had  to  flee  the  country  in  order  to 
escape  persecution.  While  he  was  abroad  he  '  took 
'  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  in  writ  '  ;  and  returning 
afterwards  to  his  native  land,  constructed  a  secret  vault 
under  his  house,  into  which  he  retired  to  worship  God, 
and  to  read  his  Testament.  This  copy  still  exists,  and 
is  the  one  which  has  recently  been  put  into  print  and 
published  by  the  Scottish  Text  Society.  Nisbet  followed 
Purvey's  revised  version  of  Wiclif's  translation,  sub- 
stituting Scots  words  where  that  was  necessary  to  make 
the  meaning  clear.  Only  one  copy  is  known  to  exist, 
and  probably  no  other  was  made  ;  as  Tyndale's  printed 
edition  of  the  New  Testament  had  by  this  time  come 
into  circulation,  and  could  be  more  easily  used  and 
understood,  as  well  as  much  more  easily  obtained  and  paid 
for.  The  episode,  however,  throws  light  on  the  great 
part  which  Scripture  was  playing  in  the  best  life  and 
aspirations  of  that  formative  epoch. 

On  March  19,  1 542-1 543,  proclamation  was  made 
at  the  Market  Cross  of  Edinburgh  that  it  was  now 
lawful  to  all  men  to  read  the  Bible  and  Testament 
in  their  own  tongue  ;  and  that  none  preach  to  the 
contrary  upon  pain  of  death.  Full  advantage  seems 
to  have  been  taken  of  the  permission  thus  granted. 
'  There  might  have  been  seen,'  said  Knox,  writing  twenty - 
five  years  later,  *  the  Bible  lying  almost  upon  every 
'  gentleman's  table.  The  New  Testament  was  borne 
'about  in  many  men's  hands.'  The  Reformer  admits 
that  some  profaned  the  Word,  and  only  made  a  show 
of  reverence  for  it  ;  but  that  was  inevitable  ;  and  '  the 
'  knowledge  of  God  wondrously  increased,  and  God  gave 
*  His  Holy  Spirit  to  simple  men  in  great  abundance.' 
And  from  that  time  onwards,  with  occasional  ebbs  in 
the  tide,  just  as  in  England,  due  to  political  and  other 


THE  FIRST  SCOTTISH  BIBLE  67 

intrigues,  the  Bible  was  the  people's  book  in  a  very 
wonderful  degree. 

The  Scots  Confession  of  1560  shows  the  reverence 
felt  by  the  early  Reformers  for  the  Word  of  God,  and 
their  renunciation  of  any  claim  to  infallibility.  '  Pro- 
'  testand  that  gif  onie  man  will  note  in  this  our  confession 
'  onie  artickle  repugnand  to  God's  halie  word,  that  it 
'  would  please  him  of  his  gentleness  and  for  Christian 
'  charitie's  sake  to  admonish  us  of  the  same  in  writing, 

*  and  we  upon  our  honours  and  fidclitie,  by  God's  grace 

*  do  promise  unto  him  satisfaction  fra  the  mouth  of  God, 
'  that  is  fra  His  halie  Scriptures,  or  else  reformation  of 
'that  quilk  he  sal  prove  to  be  amisse.' 

A  licence  to  print  the  Bible  in  Scotland,  the  first  of 
the  kind,  which  was  granted  on  April  14,  1568,  to 
the  King's  printer,  Robert  Leprevik,  is  still  extant  ;  but 
for  some  reason  or  another  this  enterprise  was  never 
carried  out.  In  1575,  however,  his  successor  Thomas 
Bassandyne,  and  Alexander  Arbuthnot  a  merchant  in 
Edinburgh,  were  authorized  to  undertake  the  work,  and 
each  parish  was  laid  under  a  contribution  of  £5  to  enable 
the  printers  to  obtain  materials — a  copy  to  be  given 
when  the  book  was  published,  as  a  return,  for  the  parish 
church.  This  Scottish  edition  was  taken  from  the  folio 
edition  of  the  Geneva  Bible,  published  in  1562;  but 
owing  to  difficulties  between  the  partners  and  with  the 
workmen,  as  well  as  other  impediments,  the  work  was 
not  completed  till  1579,  although  the  New  Testament 
bears  the  date  1576.  By  an  Act  of  the  Privy  Council, 
every  householder  was  bound  under  a  penalty  of  £10 
to  have  a  copy  with  his  name  on  it  to  prevent  fraud  ; 
and  searchers  were  appointed  to  see  that  the  matter 
was  attended  to  or  the  fine  paid. 

It  is  an  additional  testimony  to  the  place  occupied 
by  the  Geneva  Bible,  and  another  indication  that  it  was 
the  version  specially  favoured  by  those  with  Puritan 
tendencies  among  the  Reformers,  that  it  should  thus 
have  been  the  version  chosen  for  Scotland.  Since  161 1, 
however,  there  has  been  no  Scots  Bible  as  such,  and 
nowhere  has  the  Authorized  Version,  although  translated 
by  aliens  and  discredited  by  the  auspices  under  which 
it  appeared,  been  more  at  hom£  or  more  influential. 


Chapter  VII 
ON   THE    EVE   OF   THE   NEW  VERSION 


How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth 
good  tidings,  that  pubUsheth  peace  ;  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good, 
that  pubhsheth  salvation  ;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth  !  Thy 
watchmen  shall  lift  up  the  voice  :  with  the  voice  together  shall  they  sing  : 
for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye  when  the  Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion.' — 
Isaiah. 


Chapter  VII 
ON   THE   EVE  OF   THE   NEW  VERSION 

THERE  was  a  lull  in  the  rush  of  translations  when 
the  preparation  of  the  Authorized  Version  began 
to  be  proposed.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  men 
of  that  generation  saw  what  is  so  obvious  now,  after  the 
event,  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  advent  of  a  version 
which  would  be  in  reality  what  it  had  been  fondly  hoped 
the  Great  Bible  would  be — truly  national  and  accepted 
and  revered  by  all.  In  the  true  succession  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  Authorized  Version  may  be  taken  as  sixth 
in  the  line  ;  as  the  fifth  revision,  that  is,  of  the  work' 
with  which  Tyndale  had  so  nobly  opened  up  the  way. 
The  line  of  the  succession  is,  first,  Tyndale,  1525  ; 
second,  Matthew,  1537;  third,  the  Great  Bible,  1539; 
fourth,  the  Geneva  Bible,  1560  ;  fifth,  the  Bishops'  Bible, 
1568;  and  sixth,  the  Authorized  Version,  161 1.  Impor- 
tant as  they  are  in  many  ways,  neither  Coverdale's  version 
nor  the  Roman  Catholic  version  is  in  the  full  line  ; 
inasmuch  as  they  were  not  based  on  a  study  of  the 
original  tongues,  but  were  merely  translations  of  the 
Latin  and  other  versions. 

The  first  five  in  the  line,  therefore,  appeared  in  little 
more  than  forty  years  ;  while  fully  forty  years  elapsed 
between  the  fifth  and  the  sixth.  After  that,  nearly  seven 
times  forty  years  were  to  come  and  go  before  the  seventh 
in  the  succession  was  to  appear  ;  that  is,  if  succession 
is  the  right  word,  where  in  all  probability  there  will 
never  be  supersession.  Revision,  where  it  was  felt  to 
be  necessary  or  possible,  was  always  deemed  a  duty 
by  the  truth -loving  ;    after  Tyndale  had  set  the  standard 


72  ON  THE  EVE   OF  THE  NEW   VERSION 

in  that  as  in  other  respects.  Just  as  it  was  with  Wiclif, 
he  had  no  sooner  finished  his  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  than  he  began  to  revise  it,  and  to  make 
it  more  than  ever  a  faithful  rendering  of  the  text. 
'  The     history     of     the     English     Bible     is     a     history 

*  of  revisions.     It  has  been  often  gone  over  ;    and  pious 

*  hands  have  weeded  out  everything  that  seemed  an  error 
'  at  the  time.' 

In  the  days  of  King  James,  this  duty  was  still  recog- 
nized by  many  Christian  scholars,  even  although  Tyndale's 
renderings  had  been  so  often  revised  that  it  might  seem 
as  if  the  last  word  had  been  spoken.  Perhaps  it  was 
all  the  more  felt,  even  oppressively  felt,  that  there  were 
at  least  three  versions  still  in  use — the  Great  Bible, 
the  Geneva  Bible,  and  the  Bishops'  Bible  ;  the  second 
and  third  of  these  being  largely  in  circulation.  The 
Great  Bible  was  no  longer  being  printed  or  circulated, 
but  copies  were  still  to  be  found  in  many  of  the  country 
churches.  The  Bishops*  Bible  enjoyed,  or  suffered  from, 
the  support  and  patronage  of  the  authorities  in  Church 
and  State,  and  had  its  legal  place  in  the  churches. 
As  for  the  Geneva  Bible,  it  was  the  book  of  the  people, 
and  was  very  widely  used.  While  a  hundred  editions 
of  it  appeared,  there  were  only  twenty  of  its  official 
rival  ;  and  the  full  significance  of  these  figures  only 
appears  when  it  is  added  that,  whereas  in  the  one  case 
only  eighteen  of  the  hundred  editions  were  folio,  thirteen 
were  folio  out  of  the  twenty  in  the  other  case. 

The  desire  to  have  one  national  Bible,  free  from  every- 
thing that  savoured  of  the  sectarian  or  the  partizan, 
must  have  been  very  widespread  among  all  sections  of 
the  Christian  community  ;  more  so,  perhaps,  than  in 
the  generation  immediately  succeeding  the  appearance 
of  the  Authorized  Version.  Not  only  were  the  frequent 
differences  in  renderings  in  the  various  Bibles  in  use 
calculated  to  lead  to  confusion  and  distrust,  and  open 
alike  to  misconstruction  and  misunderstanding  ;  there 
were  the  sectional  and  partizan  notes  ever  at  work  to 
create  a  situation  which  in  our  time  would  have  been 
deemed  to  amount  to  a  scandal.  Nor  was  there  any 
likelihood  of  either  of  the  two  dominant  and  rival  versions 


DESIRE  FOR   A   NATIONAL  BIBLE  73 

becoming  the  Bible  of  the  nation,  as  the  Authorized 
Version  was  during  so  many  years,  and  is  still.  As 
for  the  Great  Bible,  it  was  too  cumbersome  and  was 
already  antiquated.  The  Bishops'  Bible  neither  met  the 
requirements  of  the  people  nor  commended  itself  to 
scholars.  One  sharp -ton  gued  but  competent  critic  had 
spoken  of  it  as  full  of  '  traps  and  pitfalls.'  The  Geneva 
Bible,  partly  because  of  its  notes,  had  become  the  Bible 
of   a   party. 

So  the  conviction  grew,  as  was  soon  to  be  shown 
in  the  Conference  at  Hampton  Court,  that  there  was 
no  way  out  of  the  difficulty  but  to  seek  some  new  version 
which  would  be  acceptable  to  all,  because  it  was  without 
partiality  or  bias  ;  absolutely  independent  of  party,  and 
altogether  loyal  to  the  text.  If  only  that  could  be  done, 
as  the  result  showed  it  could  be  done,  the  gain  all 
round  would  be  immense.  And  the  day  was  at  hand 
which  in  God's  good  providence  was  to  witness  the 
appearance  of  such  a  version  :  of  a  Bible  which  was 
to  be  the  Bible  of  the  whole  nation  ;  a  Bible  around 
which  every  section  could  gather  in  unity  of  attach- 
ment ;  the  English  Bible,  which  for  these  three  centuries 
bygone  has  so  wonderfully  stood  all  the  tests  of  time. 


BOOK    II 

THE    COMING   OF   THE    AUTHORIZED 
VERSION 

Chapter  I 
KING  JAMES'S   SHARE   IN   THE   WORK 


75 


How  fruitful  are  the  seeming  barren  places  of  Scripture  :  bad  ploughmen 
which  make  balks  of  such  ground.  Wheresoever  the  surface  of  God's 
Word  doth  not  laugh  and  sing  with  corn,  there  the  heart  thereof  within 
is  mercy,  with  mines  affording,  where  not  plain  matter,  hidden  mysteries.' — 
Thomas  Fuller. 


BOOK   II 

THE   COMING   OF   THE    AUTHORIZED 
VERSION 

Chapter  I 
KING  JAMES'S   SHARE  IN  THE   WORK 

IT  was  only  natural  that  the  English  Puritans  should 
hail  the  accession  of  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland  to 
the  English  throne  with  high  expectations.  He  had 
repeatedly  declared  his  adherence  to  the  Presbyterianism 
with  which  they  had  so  much  in  common,  and  in  which 
he  had  been  educated.  He  had  publicly  avowed  his 
gratitude  that  he  belonged  to  the  purest  Church  in 
Christendom.  He  had  solemnly  promised  to  maintain 
its  principles  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  had  given  them 
cause  to  anticipate  that  his  sympathies  would  be  with 
them  and  their  contentions  in  the  conflict  which  was 
already    dividing    the    English   Church. 

Very  naturally,  therefore,  they  approached  him  on  his 
triumphal  progress  southwards,  with  what  has  been  called 
the  Millenary  Petition  ;  asking  for  the  removal  of  various 
abuses  and  superstitious  elements  which  according  to 
them  had  either  crept  into  the  Reformed  Church,  or 
had  never  been  got  rid  of  at  the  Reformation.  There 
were,  of  course,  others  who  did  not  agree  with  their 
attitude,  and  many  attempts  were  made,  alike  in  public 
and  in  private,  to  win  the  favour  of  the  new  King 
for  other  interests  than  those  of  Puritanism  in  the  making. 
James's  reply  to  these  various  representations  was  the 
famous   Hampton   Court   Conference,  which  was  held  in 

77 


78         KING  JAMES'S  SHARE  IN  THE    WORK 

January,  1604,  and  which  was  ostensibly  summoned  to 
consider  the  whole  ecclesiastical  situation,  and  to  discuss 
the  matters  which  were  in  dispute  ;  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine '  things  pretended  to  be  amiss  in  the  Church.' 

We  are  concerned  with  the  Conference  now,  however, 
only  because  of  the  proposal  made  at  it,  somewhat  un- 
expectedly and  even  casually  it  would  appear,  and  which 
was  ultimately  agreed  to,  that  there  should  be  a  new 
translation  of  the  Bible  into  English,  For  the  rest,  the 
Conference  was  far  from  being  a  happy  or  auspicious 
gathering.  To  begin  with,  the  party  with  Puritan  ten- 
dencies, those  '  of  pious  straitened  consciences,'  as  Carlyle 
describes  them,  were  put  into  a  small  minority  ;  while 
James  was  true  to  himself  as  pedant  and  petty  tyrant, 
the  '  wisest  of  fools,'  but  still  a  fool.  He  addressed  those 
who  dared  to  differ  from  him  as  '  dunces  fit  to  be 
'  whipped  '  ;  although  they  were  among  the  most  learned 
and  highly  respected  men  of  the  time — '  four  world- 
'  famous  Doctors,  from  Oxford  and  Cambridge  '  ;  and 
generally  he  was  as  unlike  a  just  and  impartial  king 
and  chairman  as  it  was  possible  for  even  him  to  be. 
'  I  will  make  them  conform,'  he  said  of  the  remonstrants, 
'  or  I  will  harry  them  out  of  the  land,'  As  against 
the  four  representatives  of  the  objectors — Dr.  Reynolds, 
Dr.  Sparke,  Mr.  Knewstubbs,  and  Mr.  Chaderton — there 
were  fourteen  representatives  from  the  other  side,  an 
archbishop,  eight  bishops,  and  five  deans. 

The  suggestion  that  there  should  be  a  new  translation 
was  made  by  Dr.  Reynolds,  the  President  of  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Oxford.  He  did  not  make  it,  however, 
on  the  ground  which  might  have  appealed  to  all  parties, 
that  the  need  for  one  uniform  version  which  would  be 
acceptable  to  every  section  of  the  Church  was  very  urgent 
in  the  interests  of  religion  as  well  as  of  peace.  Instead 
of  that,  he  based  it  on  certain  faulty  renderings  in  all 
the  versions  in  use,  which  made  them  '  corrupt  and 
'  not  answerable  to  the  truth  of  the  original  '  ;  and 
Bishop  Bancroft,  of  London,  seems  to  have  expressed 
the  general  feeling  of  the  Conference  when  he  replied 
that  '  if  every  man's  humour  were  to  be  consulted,  there 
'  would  be  no  end  of  translating.'     But  for  the  interven- 


DENOUNCES   THE   GENEVA   BIBLE  79 

tion  of  the  King,  indeed,  it  is  probable  that  the  matter 
would  have  dropped.  James,  however,  was  now  in  his 
element,  and  intervened  to  some  purpose,  and  declared 
that  he  would   see  the   matter  through. 

In  a  speech  which  is  still  preserved,  he  condemned 
all  the  current  translations  as  unsatisfactory  ;  and  with 
much  parade  of  his  undoubted  and  unusual  learning  set 
forth  how  such  a  work  as  that  proposed  ought  to  be 
done.  In  particular,  he  denounced  the  Geneva  Bible 
as  the  worst  of  all  the  versions  in  use  ;  mainly  because 
of  its  marginal  notes,  which  he  declared  were  *  very 
*  partial,  untrue,  seditious,  and  savoured  too  much  of 
'dangerous  and  traitorous  conceits.'  He  singled  out 
two  of  these  notes  as  specially  obnoxious  to  him  :  that 
on  Exodus  i.  19,  where  disobedience  to  kings  is  said 
to  be  lawful  ;  and  that  on  2  Chron .  15.  16,  wherfe  Asa  is 
condemned  for  deposing  his  mother  instead  of  putting 
her  to  death.  He  professed  that  he  knew  of  these 
notes  from  a  copy  of  the  Geneva  Bible  which  an  English 
lady  had  given  him  ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  had 
used  no  other  version  since  he  was  a  boy,  and  had 
published  disquisitions  on  part  of  it.  As  for  the  notes, 
he  had  known  them  also  for  long  ;  for  they  had  often 
been  applied  to  current  politics  by  the  outspoken  Scottish 
Presbyterians  whom  he  had  had  to  endure,  and  whom 
he  was  now  determined  to  silence  if  he  could. 

It  ought  to  be  stated  that  this  account  of  the  proceedings, 
which  we  owe  to  Dr.  Barlow,  who  was  an  eye-witness, 
differs  somewhat  from  that  given  in  the  Translators' 
Preface  to  the  Authorized  Version.  But  these  accounts 
are  not  really  contradictory,  and  both  alike  run  the  be- 
ginning of  the  enterprise  back  to  the  complaints  of  the 
Puritans  and  the  decision  of  the  King.  It  may  be 
claimed,  therefore,  for  King  James  that  it  was  due  to 
him  that  the  good  work  was  begun  which  resulted  in 
the  appearance  of  the  Authorized  Version  three  centuries 
ago .  When  Convocation  met  shortly  after  the  Conference 
not  a  word  seems  to  have  been  said  about  a  new  transla- 
tion, and  the  driving -power  appears  to  have  come  solely 
from  the  King.  Bancroft  said,  later  on  in  that  same 
year  :    '  I  am  persuaded  his  royal  mind  rejoiceth  more 


8o  KING  JAMES S  SHARE  IN  THE    WORK 

*  in  the  good  hope  which  he  hath  for  a  happy  issue  of 
'that  work,  than  of  his  peace  concluded  with  Spain.' 
It  may  also  be  claimed  for  James  that  all  the  arrange- 
ments for  which  he  was  responsible  were  admirably  made. 
He  was  a  man  of  capacity,  and  had  a  strong  sense  of 
the  responsibilities  of  his  office  as  well  as  a  readiness 
to  work  hard. 

As  for  the  motives  which  induced  him  to  enter  so 
heartily  on  this  great  undertaking,  it  is  not  possible  to 
speak  with  certainty.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  inquire  very 
closely.  Probably  his  motives  were  mixed,  like  those 
of  other  men  ;  but  one  thing  is  certain,  that  he  was 
led  by  no  love  for  the  Word  of  God,  nor  by  any  desire 
to  secure  its  circulation  among  his  subjects.  He  was 
shrewd  enough  to  see  that  a  new  translation  under  his 
learned  and  royal  auspices  would  add  greatly  to  the 
glory  of  his  reign.  It  is,  indeed,  the  only  glorious  thing 
connected  with  his  shifty  and  unworthy  rule  and  his 
ambiguous  career.  The  very  discussion  of  such  a  subject 
attracted  him,  too,  and  to  do  him  justice,  his  powers 
of  administration  and  application  were  far  from  incon- 
siderable. He  was  also  inordinately  fond  of  displaying 
his  learning,  especially  in  connection  with  theology  ;  and 
a  project  of  this  sort  promised  him  abundance  of  scope 
in  that  direction.  But  he  was  a  thoroughly  despicable 
man  all  the  same,  and  in  no  way  entitled  to  have  his 
name  bound  up  all  through  the  ages  with  an  enter- 
prise so  holy.  In  spite  of  all  the  inconsistencies  of 
which  human  nature  is  capable — and  he  was  not  wholly 
evil  any  more  than  others — it  is  hardly  conceivable  that 
he  had  any  desire  to  spread  Divine  truth  for  its  own 
sake  throughout  his  dominions.  Yet  he  had  been  a 
translator  of  the  Scriptures  himself.  In  1634,  Charles 
the  First  sanctioned  a  version  of  the  Psalter  to  which 
his  father  is  said  to  have  contributed  thirty  psalms  ;  but 
those  who  sang  the  metrical  psalms  obstinately  preferred 
the  Psalter  printed  in  1564  by  the  Scottish  Reformers 
and  introduced  by  Knox. 

Dr.  Hume  Brown,  the  latest  and  most  judicial  of 
Scottish  historians,  says  that  '  in  his  dealings  alike  with 
'  Highland  chiefs   and   Presbyterian  clergy,  he  so  often 


S/J?    WALTER   SCOTT'S  PORTRAITURE  8i 

*  displayed  a  petty  malice,  a  malignity,  and  a  deliberate 
'  cruelty,  that  we  are  bound  to  conclude  that  these  vices 
'were  of  the  essence  of  his  nature.'  Another  Scottish 
historian  says  that  '  he  was  vindictive,  accessible  to  the 
'  most  fulsome  flattery,  and  extremely  conceited.'  Mr. 
Green  says  that  '  his  shrewdness  and  learning  only  left 
'  him,   in   the   phrase   of   Henry   the    Fourth,   the   wisest 

*  fool  in  Christendom  '  ;  and  that  '  the  immorality  of 
'  James's  Court  was  hardly  more  despicable  than  the 
'  imbecility  of  his  government.'  It  would  appear  that 
he  actually  made  money  out  of  the  translation,  by  adding 
a  Bible  monopoly  to  the  others  which  then  flourished, 
and  which  did  so  much  to  demoralize  and  disturb  the 
trade  of  the  country.  Students  of  heredity  who  remember 
that  our  Charles  the  Second  and  James  the  Second  had 
Henry  the  Fourth  of  France  as  their  other  grandfather, 
may  well  see  where  their  vices  came  from  ;  and  James's 
contribution  to  the  terrible  sum-total  was  as  great  as 
that  of  Henry,  who  bought  Paris  with  a  Mass,  and  treated 
the  Seventh  Commandment  as  if  it  were  a  dead  letter. 
James  was  essentially  a  weakling  ;  his  weakness  led 
him  into  much  double-dealing  and  gross  wickedness  ; 
and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that,  such  as  it  is.  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  portraiture  of  him  in  The  Fortunes  of 
Nigel  is  far  too  favourable. 

It  is  undoubted  that  he  felt  the  sting  of  some 
of  the  outspoken  notes  appended  to  the  Geneva 
Bible.  They  ran  counter  to  his  most  inveterate  con- 
victions and  prejudices.  But  what  is  remarkable  is  that 
a  man  so  shrewd  in  many  ways  did  not  see  that  the 
text  of  Scripture  was  far  harder  on  a  life  like  his  than 
any  such  notes  could  be  ;  and  that  it  spoke  with  an 
authority  to  which  the  notes  never  aspired.  Gibbon 
says  that  when  Ulfilas  was  preparing  his  version  of 
Scripture  for  the  Goths  '  he  prudently  suppressed  the 
'  four  Books  of  Kings,  as  they  might  tend  to  irritate 
'the  fierce  spirit  of  the  barbarians.'  So  our  British 
Solomon  might  have  had  qualms  as  to  what  a  nation 
of  Bible -readers  would  think  of  his  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  right  of  kings,  which  in  practice  set  the  Stewarts 
not  only  above  criticism,  but  above  the  moral  law  of 
G 


82  KING  JAMES'S  SHARE  IN  THE    WORK 

God  as  well  as  above  the  law  of  the  land.  That  he 
should  patronize  a  book  which  told  the  story  of  Nathan 
and  David,  of  Naboth  and  Ahab,  and  much  else  which 
made  for  liberty,  and  has  made  Stewart  tyranny  long 
since  impossible  in  the  English-speaking  lands,  is  indeed 
passing  strange.  For  the  rest,  he  was  more  than  repaid 
for  the  help  he  gave  and  the  services  he  undoubtedly 
rendered,  by  the  Dedication  which  has  carried  his  name 
and  his  fame  into  many  a  home  where  otherwise  they 
would  have  been  unknown. 

As  for  that  Dedication  itself  and  the  sentiments 
therein  set  forth,  perhaps  all  that  need  be  said  here 
is  that  in  our  estimate,  regard  must  be  had  to  the  practice 
of  the  age  in  such  matters.  To  us  it  seems  not  only 
fulsome,  but  altogether  out  of  place  as  a  preface  to  the 
Word  of  God  ;  where  no  man  should  be  exalted  in  this 
way,  even  if  he  had  been  as  good  and  great  as  James 
was  erroneously  declared  to  be.  When  the  Geneva 
Bible  appeared,  the  frank  and  straightforward  address 
to  Queen  Elizabeth,  which  occupied  twenty -eight  folio 
pages,  was  a  very  different  document  from  the  flattery 
addressed  to  her  ignoble  successor,  as  well  as  from 
the  earlier  dedications  which  had  been  addressed  to 
her  father,  the  quondam  Defender  of  the  Faith.  As 
for  the  Bishops'  Bible,  although  it  was  official  as  the 
Authorized  Version  was  never  destined  to  be,  it  had  no 
dedicatory  address  of  any  kind,  apart  from  Archbishop 
Parker's  prologue  ;  which,  however,  occupied  five  closely - 
printed  folio  pages  by  way  of  applying  the  words 
'  search  the  Scriptures,'  and  describing  what  led  to  the 
preparation  of  the  new  version.  The  men  of  1611, 
however,  were  not  content  with  that  ;  but  prepared  a 
document  which  contains  much  which  in  the  light  of 
historical  research  is  now  known  to  be  untrue,  alike  as 
regards  the  public  policy  and  the  private  character  of 
the  monarch  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  And  even  if 
it  be  the  case  that  his  learning  was  great  and,  thanks 
to  George  Buchanan,  of  a  character  uncommon  in  a 
king,  his  immediate  predecessors  on  the  English  throne 
had  both  been  highly  accomplished. 

Great   thinkers   and   scholars,    however,   like   Erasmus 


DIVINE  RIGHT  OF  KINGS  83 

and  Bacon,  indulged  in  grovelling  and  false  dedica- 
tions of  their  works  to  men  equally  unworthy.  Some- 
times they  even  addressed  the  powerful  and  rich,  in 
what  seem  to  us  most  abject  and  degrading  terms,  in 
order  to  obtain  appointments  and  money  gifts.  And 
the  whole  atmosphere  was  laden  with  sycophancy  in 
James's  time.  At  the  Hampton  Court  Conference,  the 
aged  Whitgift,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  though  he  was, 
declared  with  rapture  that  King  James  had  undoubtedly 
spoken  by  the  special  assistance  of  God's  Spirit  ;  while 
Bancroft,  who  was  soon  to  be  Archbishop,  fell  on  his 
knees  before  James,  and  cried  out  that  there  had  been 
no  such  king  since  Christ's  time.  The  temporal  lords, 
too,  applauded  His  Majesty's  speeches  as  proceeding  from 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  from  an  understanding  heart.  Yet 
even  they  must  have  known,  and  known  it  better  than 
many  of  the  translators,  that  he  was  cowardly  and 
profane,  perhaps  drunken  and  worse  ;  and  in  no  sense 
one  whom  the  honourable  and  pure  could  applaud  either 
as  man  or  monarch,  although  they  thus  grovelled  before 
him  in  the  dust.  Coke,  his  attorney-general,  once 
extolled  James  as  '  Divinely  illumined  by  Almighty  God, 
'  and  like  an  angel  of  God.'  Selden,  too,  spoke  of 
the  royal  interpretation  of  some  parts  of  the  Apocalypse 
as  *  the  clearest  seen  among  the  lesser  lights,  and  a 
*  performance   most   Divine   and   kingly.' 

Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  if  we  would  rightly 
appreciate  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  Dedication  to 
James  was  begotten,  that  there  were  many  then  who 
really  believed  in  the  Divine  right  of  kings  to  rule, 
in  the  sense  in  which  the  Stewarts  asserted  it.  James 
himself  declared  that  '  as  it  is  atheism  and  blasphemy 
'  to  dispute  what  God  can  do,  so  it  is  presumption  and 
'  a  high  contempt  in  a  subject  to  dispute  what  a  king 
'  can  do,  or  to  say  that  a  king  cannot  do  this  or 
'that.'  Not  only  so;  but  Convocation  in  its  Book  of 
Canons  denounced  as  a  fatal  error  the  assertion  that 
'  all  civil  power,  jurisdiction,  and  authority,  were  first 
'  derived  from  the  people  and  disordered  multitude  ; 
'  or  either  is  originally  still  in  them,  or  else  is  deduced 
'  by  their  consent  naturally  from  them,  and  is  not  God's 


84         KING  JAMES'S  SHARE  IN  THE    WORK 

'  ordinance  originally  descending  from  Him  and  depend- 
'  ing  upon  Him.'  It  was  even  asserted  in  these  servile 
days  that  '  the  King  is  above  law  by  his  absolute  power  '  ; 
and  that  *  notwithstanding  his  oath,  he  may  alter  and 
'  suspend  any  particular  law  that  seemeth  hurtful  to  the 
'public  estate.'  Passive  obedience  to  the  monarch,  no 
matter  who  he  was,  was  inculcated  as  a  religious  obligation 
by  many  who  ought  to  have  known  better. 

Compared  with  much  of  this,  the  Dedication,  such 
as  it  is,  seems  moderate  and  careful  in  tone  ;  and  its 
limitations  are  those  of  the  generation  which  produced  it, 
and  to  which  if  possible  it  ought  to  have  been  con- 
fined. For  after  every  allowance  has  been  made,  it 
cannot  but  be  felt  that,  in  loyalty  to  the  Book  to  which 
it  was  attached,  the  Dedication  might  well  have  dis- 
appeared ;  especially  when  the  Preface,  which  is  so 
admirable  and  valuable,  soon  ceased  to  appear  in  ordinary 
editions.  Had  it  been  the  Preface  which  was  retained 
instead,  great  gain  would  have  resulted  ;  as  the  study 
of  it  is  little  short  of  a  liberal  education  for  those  who 
undertake  it  with  open  eyes  and  responsive  hearts  ;  and 
it  is  satisfactory  that  more  attention  is  now  being  directed 
to  it. 

Then,  finally,  in  this  connection  it  ought  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  Puritan  element  in  the  community, 
which  had  been  very  inadequately  represented  among 
the  translators  to  begin  with,  was  hardly  represented 
at  all  when  the  Dedication  was  written.  Of  their 
accredited  spokesmen,  Reynolds,  Lively,  and  Chaderton, 
only  the  last-named  survived  till  1611  ;  and  more  than 
one  reference  in  the  Preface  shows  that  the  translators 
were  anxious  to  have  it  understood  that  they  were 
altogether  free  from  the  new  spirit  which  was  beginning 
to  manifest  itself  so  vigorously,  and  was  soon  to  lead 
to  Civil  War. 


Chapter  II 
THE  TRANSLATORS 


85 


'I  have  carefully  and  regularly  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  I  am  of 
opinion,  that  this  volume,  independently  of  its  Divine  origin,  contains  more 
true  sublimity,  more  exquisite  beauty,  more  pure  morality,  more  important 
history,  and  finer  strains  of  poetry  and  eloquence,  than  could  be  collected 
from  all  other  books,  in  whatever  age  or  language  they  may  have  been 
composed.' — Sir  William  Jones. 


Chapter  II 
THE  TRANSLATORS 

ON  July  2  2,  1604,  King  James  announced  to  Bancroft, 
Bishop  of  London,  who  then  represented  the  See 
of   Canterbury,   that   he   had  appointed    '  certain   learned 
men,  to  the  number  of  four -and -fifty,   for  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible.'     He  also  directed  him  to  '  move  the 
bishops  to  inform  themselves  of  all  such  learned  men 
within  their  several  dioceses,  as,  having  especial  skill 
in   the   Hebrew  and   Greek  tongues,   have   taken  pains 
in    their    private    studies    of    the    Scriptures    for    the 
clearing    of   any    obscurities    either    in   the    Hebrew    or 
the   Greek,   or   touching   any   difficulties   or   mistakings 
in  the  former  English  translations,  which  we  have  now 
commanded    to    be    thoroughly    viewed    and    amended  ; 
and  thereupon  to  earnestly  charge  them,  signifying  our 
pleasure  therein,  that  they  send  such  their  observations 
to   Mr.   Lively,   our   Hebrew   reader   in    Cambridge,    or 
to  Dr.  Harding,   our  Hebrew  reader  in  Oxford,  or  to 
Dr.   Andrewes,   Dean   of   Westminster,   to   be   imparted 
to    the    rest    of    their    several    companies,    that    so    our 
intended  translation  may  have  the  help  and  furtherance 
of    all    our    principal    learned    men    within    this    our 
kingdom.' 
Bancroft   was    likewise   instructed   to   provide   for   the 
recompense    of    the    translators    by    means    of    Church 
preferment.      Whenever    'a    living    of    twenty    pounds' 
became  vacant.  His  Majesty  was  to  be  informed  of  the 
circumstance,    that    he    might    recommend    one    of    the 
translators    to    the    patron.       The    Bishop    was    further 

directed  to  arrange  for  the  immediate  expenses  of  the 

87 


88  THE   TRANSLATORS 

undertaking  ;  for  although  His  Majesty  was  very  ready 
to  meet  these  himself,  '  of  his  most  princely  disposition,' 
'  some  of  my  lords,  as  things  now  go,  had  held  it 
'  inconvenient.'  The  various  bishops  and  chapters  were 
encouraged  to  contribute  towards  the  work  by  the 
assurance  that  His  Majesty  would  be  acquainted  with 
every  man's  liberality.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  of 
the  translators  did  receive  high  promotion  in  the  Church  ; 
while  Savile,  the  only  layman  amongst  them,  was  made 
a  knight. 

This  seems  to  have  been  all  that  James  ever  did, 
so  far  as  the  expenses  of  the  work  were  concerned. 
Apart  from  free  entertainment  in  the  colleges,  all  that 
any  of  the  translators  themselves  appear  to  have 
received  was  the  sum  of  thirty  shillings  a  week  ;  which, 
according  to  one  account,  was  paid  by  the  Company 
of  Stationers  to  each  of  the  scholars  engaged  in  the 
final  revision.  According  to  another  account,  the 
expenses  were  met  by  Barker,  the  royal  printer  and 
patentee,  who  paid  the  sum  of  £3,500  for  that  purpose. 
In  this,  however,  as  in  so  much  else  connected  with  this 
whole  undertaking,  it  is  surprising  how  little  definite 
information  has  come  down  to  us.  '  Never,'  says  Dr. 
Scrivener,  who  knows  all  that  is  to  be  known  on  the 
subject,  '  was  a  great  enterprise  like  the  production  of 
'  our  Authorized  Version  carried  through  with  less  know- 
'  ledge  handed  down  to  posterity  of  the  labourers,  their 
'  method,  and  order  of  working.'  It  is  not  known 
that  any  of  the  correspondence  connected  with  the 
progress  of  the  work,  or  any  minute  of  the  meetings 
held,  is  still  extant.  We  have  no  authentic  contempo- 
rary history  of  its  preparation,  nor  any  manuscript 
indubitably  containing  the  translators'  words,  nor  any 
copies  of  the  Bible  in  the  transition  stage. 

It  is  usually  held  that  it  was  three  years  after  the 
King's  letter  to  Bancroft,  following  close  as  it  did  on 
the  Hampton  Court  Conference,  before  the  actual  work  of 
the  translators  was  begun.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  it 
was  the  revision  which  was  begun  in  1607  ;  and  it  seems 
fairly  certain  some  of  the  translators  were  at  work  as  early 


THE  SIX  COMPANIES  89 

as  the  spring  of  1605.  Of  the  fifty-four  who  were  nomi- 
nated in  1604,  only  forty -seven  are  known  as  sharing 
in  the  work.  Mr.  Lively,  who  was  reputed  '  one  of 
'the  best  linguists  in  the  world,'  died  in  1605  ;  while 
Dr.  Reynolds,  who  first  suggested  the  enterprise  at 
Hampton  Court,  died  in  1 607  ;  and  there  may  have 
been  other  changes.  Documentary  evidence  of  other 
helpers  has  also  come  to  light  in  recent  years.  Dr. 
John  Aglionby,  Principal  of  St.  Edmund's  Hall  ;  Dr. 
Leonard  Hutton,  Canon  of  Christ  Church  ;  Arthur  Lake, 
or  Lakes,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  ;  John 
Harmar  ;  and  Dr.  George  Ryves,  Warden  of  New 
College,  all  seem  to  have  shared  in  the  great  work. 

The  work  was  entrusted  to  six  companies,  of  which 
two  met  at  each  of  the  three  centres,  Westminster, 
Oxford,  and  Cambridge,  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  Dean  of  Westminster  and  the  two  University  Hebrew 
professors.  It  was  intended  that  the  work  of  each  of 
these  companies  should  be  gone  over  by  the  other  five, 
but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  this  was  done  ;  and 
in  the  absence  of  this  the  final  revision  by  a  small 
committee  who  met  for  nine  months  in  London  to  prepare 
the  book  for  the  press  was  not  sufficient  to  prevent 
a  certain  inequality  in  the  execution  of  the  several 
portions  of  the  translations.  Job  and  the  Psalms,  for 
example,  are  not  so  helpfully  rendered  as  the  Pentateuch. 
The  Epistles  are  not  so  well  done  as  the  Gospels  and 
the  Acts  ;  while  the  Apocrypha  is  the  least  successful 
part  of  all.  It  is  ungrateful  work,  however,  to  try  to 
find  spots  on  the  sun  ;  and  every  page  of  their  work 
calls  forth  the  admiration  of  the  reader.  Perhaps  the 
very  perfection  of  their  style  consists  in  the  fashion 
in  which  they  make  the  reader  forget  all  about  style, 
and  realize  that  he  is  hearing  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
Himself. 

The  first  company,  which  consisted  of  ten  members, 
met  at  Westminster,  and  was  presided  over  by  the  Dean, 
Dr.  Lancelot  Andrewes,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester ;  of  whom  it  was  said  that  he  might  have  been 
'  interpreter -general  at  Babel.'  Many  considered  him 
the  most  learned  man  in  England.     This  company  also 


90  THE   TRANSLATORS 

included  Overall,  then  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  and  Adrian  de 
Savaria,  by  birth  a  Fleming  and  at  that  time  Prebendary 
of  Westminster  ;  but  best  known  as  the  bosom  friend  and 
spiritual  counsellor  of  Richard  Hooker.  As  Scrivener 
remarks,  this  company's  share  of  the  work — from  Genesis 
to  Second  Kings — may  seem  an  easy  one  ;  but  the  eminent 
success  of  the  whole  enterprise  is  largely  due  to  the  simple 
dignity  of  their  style,  and  to  the  mingled  prudence  and 
boldness  wherewith  they  so  blended  together  the  idioms 
of  two  very  diverse  languages,  that  the  reader  is  almost 
tempted  to  believe  that  the  genius  of  his  native  tongue 
must  have  some  subtle  affinity  with  the  Hebrew. 

The  second  company,  which  was  composed  of  eight 
members,  met  at  Cambridge,  and  had  from  i  Chronicles 
to  Ecclesiastes  as  their  share.  They  suffered  an  irre- 
parable loss  in  the  death  of  Edward  Lively,  who  was 
to  have  presided  over  them,  before  their  work  was  well 
begun.  It  would  appear,  too,  that  his  successor  as 
Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew  also  died  a  year  later  ;  and 
their  translation  is  usually  considered  to  be  less  satis- 
factory than  that  of  the  other  Canonical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament.  The  third  company,  seven  in  number, 
met  at  Oxford,  and  translated  from  Isaiah  to  the  end 
of  the  Old  Testament.  They  were  presided  over  by  the 
University  Hebrew  professor,  and  had  also  amongst  them 
Dr.  Richard  Kilbye,  Rector  of  Lincoln  College,  whose 
testimony  to  the  anxious  pains  with  which  they  did 
their  work  has  been  preserved  by  Isaac  Walton.  In 
spite  of  the  difficulty  of  their  task,  what  they  did  is 
of  surpassing  merit. 

The  fourth  company,  which  also  consisted  of  seven 
members,  met  in  Cambridge  under  the  presidency  of 
Dr.  Duport,  who  was  four  times  elected  Vice -Chancellor 
of  his  University.  The  translation  of  the  Apocrypha 
was  assigned  to  them,  and  they  were  the  first  to 
complete  their  share  of  the  work,  as  well  as  the  least 
happy  in  their  execution  of  it.  The  fifth  company,  eight 
in  number,  which  met  at  Oxford  under  the  presidency  of 
Dr.  Ravis,  Dean  of  Christchurch  and  Vice-Chancellor 
of  the  University,  had  the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and  the 
Apocalypse  as  their  portion  ;    while,  finally,  the  Epistles 


TIME    WELL   SPENT  91 

were  entrusted  to  the  sixth  company,  which  met  at  West- 
minster and  was  presided  over  by  Dr.  Barlow,  Dean 
of  Chester,  and  chronicler  of  the  Hampton  Court  Con- 
ference.     It  had  seven  members. 

Others  of  the  translators  of  whom  something  is  known 
were  Sir  Henry  Savile,  Warden  of  Merton,  then  the 
most  famous  Greek  scholar  in  England,  who  served  on 
the  second  Oxford  company  ;  Mr.  Bois,  Fellow  of  St. 
John's,  who  with  Savile  is  said  to  have  represented 
scholarship  free  from  any  party,  whether  High  Church 
or  Puritan,  and  who  was  transferred  to  the  first  Cam- 
bridge company  after  he  had  finished  his  work  on  the 
second  Cambridge  company  ;  Dr.  Chaderton,  Master  of 
Emmanuel,  one  of  the  four  Puritan  leaders  at  Hampton 
Court,  and  who  was  '  grave,  godly,  learned,  familiar 
'  with  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  tongues,  and  the  numerous 
'  writings  of  the  Rabbis  '  ;  Andrew  Downs,  described 
as  '  one  composed  of  Greek  and  industry  '  ;  Dr.  Bedwell, 
the  greatest  Arabic  scholar  in  Europe  ;  and  Dr.  Miles 
Smith,  who  is  understood  to  have  written  the  Preface  ; 
and  who,  along  with  Dr.  Thomas  Bilson,  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, whose  name  does  not  appear  in  any  list  of 
the  six  companies,  made  the  final  revision  of  the  work, 
and  saw  it  through  the  press.  No  place  was  found  on 
any  of  the  companies  for  Hugh  Broughton,  the  great 
Hebraist,  who  had  sketched  a  plan  for  a  new  version  ; 
but  his  printed  translations  of  parts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment were  not  without  influence  on  the  translators.  It 
is  supposed  that  he  was  excluded  partly  because  of  his 
violent  overbearing  temper,  and  partly  because  of  the 
dislike  with  which  both  Whitgift  and  Bancroft  regarded 
him  ;  and  when  the  Authorized  Version  finally  appeared, 
he   attacked   it   with  great   ferocity. 

The  translators  were  occupied  for  two  years  and  nine 
months  on  their  work,  and  never  perhaps  was  time 
better  spent.  They  left  nothing  undone,  and  spared 
themselves  no  toil  in  their  determination  to  make  their 
work  as  perfect  as  it  could  possibly  be.  They  studied 
the  original  Hebrew  and  Greek.  They  had  all  the  other 
modern  translations  before  them  for  their  guidance.  They 
went  over  the  commentaries  of  the  great  scholars.     And 


92  THE   TRANSLATORS 

then  when  they  had  discovered  the  exact  meaning  of 
each  passage,  they  did  everything  in  their  power  to 
express  it  in  clear,  vigorous,  idiomatic  English.  Even 
translations  which  were  defective  in  many  respects  were 
ransacked  for  illuminating  words  and  expressive  phrases, 
that  nothing  might  be  lost. 

Besides  all  this,  they  exercised  their  own  independent 
judgment  all  through  with  singular  wisdom  and  insight. 
The  pervading  spirit  in  their  completed  work  is  un- 
doubtedly that  of  Tyndale,  but  the  final  outcome  is  their 
own.  They  wove  their  own  original  renderings  so  skil- 
fully with  all  that  was  worthiest  and  truest  in  other 
versions,  and  so  wonderfully  conformed  their  English 
to  the  sense  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek,  that  the  very 
idioms  of  the  original  enter  into  the  thought  and  emotion 
of  the  ordinary  reader.  The  dialect  of  the  Authorized 
Version  is  as  near  men's  minds  as  their  own  speech. 
To  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  result  of  their  con- 
secrated labours  was  a  book  which  has  none  of  the 
drawbacks  of  a  translation  and  all  the  power  of  an 
original  work.  As  they  sent  it  forth,  the  Authorized 
Version  has  been  a  book  which  has  interpreted  every 
emotion  and  every  experience  ;  a  book  for  the  joyous 
and  for  the  sad  ;  a  book  for  the  perplexed  and  for 
those  on  the  primrose  pathway  ;  a  book  which  inspires 
to  deeds  of  self-sacrifice  and  self-surrender,  and  gives 
new  strength  to  the  tempted  and  the  tried.  It  has  been 
the   light   and   life   of   countless    thousands. 


Chapter   III 

THEIR   INSTRUCTIONS  AND    HOW   THEY 
UNDERSTOOD  THEM 


93 


'  The  Scriptures  manifest  themselves  to  be  the  Word  of  God  by  their 
majesty  and  purity  :  by  the  consent  of  all  the  parts  and  the  scope  of  the 
whole,  which  is  to  give  all  glory  to  God  :  by  their  light  and  power  to 
convince  and  convert  sinners,  to  comfort  and  build  up  believers  unto 
salvation  :  but  the  Spirit  of  God  bearing  witness  by  and  with  the  Scriptures 
in  the  heart  of  man  is  alone  able  fully  to  persuade  it  that  they  are  the 
very  Word  of  God.' — The  Larger  Catechism. 


Chapter  III 

THEIR    INSTRUCTIONS    AND    HOW    THEY 
UNDERSTOOD    THEM 

THE  Rules  which  were  drawn  up  for  the  guidance 
of  the  translators  may  well  be  detailed  here  ;  not 
only  for  their  own  sake,  but  because  of  the  light  which 
they  throw  on  the  work.  It  is  not  known  who  drew  them 
up,  but  probably  they  passed  through  several  hands,  in- 
cluding the  King's,  and  they  are  admirable  in  almost 
every  respect. 

'Rule  I. — The  ordinary  Bible  read  in  the 
'  church,  commonly  called  the  Bishops'  Bible,  to 
'  be  followed,  and  as  little  altered  as  the  truth  of 
'the   original   will   permit.' 

It  may  have  been  inevitable  from  its  official  position 
that  the  Bishops'  Bible  should  thus  get  a  place  it  by 
no  means  deserved,  and  be  put  in  the  forefront  as  the 
basis  and  starting-point  of  the  translators'  work  ;  but 
it  was  so  in  form  rather  than  in  reality.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  Geneva  version  throughout,  and  even  the 
Rheims  New  Testament,  were  more  used  in  the  final 
result  than  the  version  thus  preferred.  Yet  this  first 
instruction  was  obeyed  in  the  best  sense.  As  few  changes 
as  possible  were  made  on  the  texts  with  which  Bible - 
readers  were  most  familiar,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
not  more  than  four  new  words  in  a  hundred  were  intro- 
duced  into  the   Authorized  Version. 

That  the  Rheims  New  Testament  should  have  had  such 

95 


96  RULES  FOR   THE   TRANSLATORS 

an  influence  is  somewhat  surprising  ;  but  the  fact  remains, 
that  it  has  left  its  mark  on  every  page.  In  the  short 
first  Epistle  of  John,  for  example,  the  following  are 
all  directly  traceable  to  it  :  '  Confess  our  sins,'  where 
previous    versions    had    '  knowledge  '   or    '  acknowledge.' 

*  He  is  the  propitiation,'  instead  of  '  He  it  is  that  obtaineth 
'grace.'  'The  unction,'  instead  of  'ointment.'  'We 
'  may  have  confidence,'  instead  of  '  we  may  be  bold.' 
Such  Latin  words  in  the  Authorized  Version  have  also 
come  from  it  as  '  hymn  '  (Matt.  26.  30)  ;  '  decease  ' 
(Luke  9.  31  ;  'separated'  (Rom.  i.  i)  ;  '  impeni- 
'tent'  (Rom.  2.  5)  ;  and  'contemptible'  (2  Cor.  10.  10). 
Other  examples  of  the  readiness  of  the  translators  to 
cull  flowers  from  every  garden  in  their  profound  loyalty 
to  truth  are  John  9.  22  :  '  He  shall  be  put  out  of  the 
'  synagogue,'  instead  of  '  excommunicate.'    2  Cor.  5.   18  : 

*  Hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,' 
instead  of  'the  office  to  preach  the  atonement.' 
Heb.   12.   16  :    '  Profane  person,'  instead  of  '  unclean.' 

It  is  also  surprising  that  the  version  which  has 
influenced  our  present  version  more  than  any  other  is 
the  Genevan,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  work 
of  translation  was  undertaken  largely  because  of  the 
King's  antipathy  to  that  version,  which  he  denounced 
as  the  worst  of  all  the  translations.  The  fact,  however, 
is  beyond  dispute.  Dr.  Westcott  has  shown  that  of  the 
variations  from  the  Bishops'  Bible  in  the  fifty-third 
chapter  of  Isaiah,  '  about  seven-eighths  are  due  to  the 
'  Genevan  version,  either  alone  or  in  agreement  with 
'one  of  the  Latin  versions.'  He  adds  that  although  this 
is  an  extreme  instance,  '  it  only  represents  on  an  ex- 
'  aggerated  scale  the  general  relation  in  which  the 
'  Authorized  Version  stands  to  the  Genevan  and  Bishops' 
'  Bible  in  the  Prophetical  Books.'  The  influence  of  the 
Geneva  version  was  not  so  marked  in  the  Historical 
Books  of  the  Old  Testament  ;  but  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment it  provided  the  translators  with  many  memorable 
phrases.  It  gave  us,  '  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,' 
instead  of  '  it  is  good  being  here  for  us  '  ;  '  men  of 
'  like  passions  with  you,'  instead  of  '  mortal  men  like 
'  unto  you  '  ;    'we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,'  instead 


PROPER  NAMES  97 

of  '  we  see  in  a  glass  even  in  a  dark  speaking  '  ;  '  ambas- 
'  sadors  for  Christ,'  instead  of  '  messengers  in  the 
'  room  of  Christ.' 

'Rule  11. — The  names  of  the  prophets  and  the 
*  holy  writers,  with  the  other  names  of  the  text,  to 
'  be  retained,  as  nigh  as  may  be,  according  as 
'  they  were  vulgarly  used.' 

In  this  respect  the  example  of  the  Geneva  version 
was  not  followed,  which  was  well.  Perhaps,  indeed, 
it  was  the  Genevan  mode  of  spelling  proper  names 
which  led  to  this  rule  being  laid  down.  For  instead 
of  adhering  to  the  usual  English  forms,  that  version 
sought  to  copy  the  original  as  closely  as  possible. 
Hence  Rahel  for  Rachel  ;  Heuah  for  Eve  ;  and  such 
strange  names  as  laakob,  Izhhak,  and  the  like.  It  would 
have  been  well,  however,  had  our  translators  made  the 
names  uniform  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  There 
seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  Elisha  should  reappear 
in  the  New  Testament  as  Eliseus,  Noah  as  Noe,  or 
Korah  as  Core.  In  their  preface  to  the  Revised  Version 
of  the  New  Testament,  the  Revisers  say  that  they 
deemed  it  best  to  follow  this  rule  as  laid  down  for 
their  predecessors  as  far  as  they  could  ;  but  that  while 
their  general  practice  had  been  to  follow  the  Greek 
form  of  names,  in  the  case  of  those  mentioned  in  the 
Old  Testament,  they  followed  the  Hebrew.  In  any  case 
they  have  secured  uniformity  between  the  Two  Testa- 
ments,  which  was  no  more  than  seemly. 

'Rule  III. — The  old  ecclesiastical  words  to  be 
'  kept,  viz .,  the  word  church  not  to  be  translated 
'  congregation^  &c.' 

Some  think  that  this  rule  was  laid  down  for  the  sake 
of  this  special  application.  It  is  possible  that  it  had 
its  origin  in  a  desire  that  the  translators  should  see 
things  from  the  High  Church  viewpoint  ;  but  it  was 
sensibly  interpreted  and  applied.  As  it  worked  out, 
it  proved  to  be  in  reality  a  prohibition  of  any  attempt 

H 


98  RULES  FOR   THE   TRANSLATORS 

to  manipulate  the  text  in  a  sectarian  or  partisan  interest 
or   spirit  ;     and   whatever  secured   that   was   best. 

'Rule  IV. — When  a  word  hath  divers  significa- 
*  tions,  that  to  be  kept  which  hath  been  most 
'  commonly  used  by  the  most  of  the  ancient  fathers, 
'  being  agreeable  to  the  propriety  of  the  place  and 
'the  analogy  of  the  faith.' 

Along  with  this  may  be  taken  Rule  XV .,  which  was 
probably  added  afterwards  as  a  kind  of  by-law  when  the 
practical  difficulty  of  the  fourth  rule  began  to  be  felt  : 

'  Beside  the  said  directors  before  mentioned, 
'  three  or  four  of  the  most  ancient  and  grave 
'  divines  in  either  of  our  Universities,  not  em- 
'  ployed  in  translation,  to  be  assigned  by  the 
'  Vice -Chancellor  upon  conference  with  the  rest  of 
'  the  Heads  to  be  overseers  of  the  translation,  as 
'  well  Hebrew  as  Greek,  for  the  better  observance 
'  of  the  fourth  rule  above  specified.' 

This  rule  and  by-law  were  evidently  in  the  mterests 
of  the  English  of  the  new  version.  Scholars  were  to 
ascertain  the  exact  meaning  of  the  text,  but  after  that 
the  question  remained  as  to  how  this  meaning  could  be 
most  suitably  conveyed  to  the  English  reader  ;  and  with 
the  result  before  us,  we  cannot  but  respect  the  means 
which  were  taken  to  secure  it.  It  is  to  its  twofold  excel- 
lence as  setting  forth  the  true  meaning  of  the  original 
in  the  best  English  that  the  Authorized  Version  owes 
its  well -deserved  popularity.  In  reality,  the  rule  was 
just  what  common-sense  enjoined  ;  but  the  outcome  of 
it  in  practice  seems  to  have  been  that  the  archaic  element 
in  the  Authorized  Version,  which  was  the  basis  of  one 
of  the  pleas  for  the  Revision  in  our  time,  was  to  some 
extent  archaic  even  in  1 6 1 1 . 

Hallam,  the  great  critic,  who  like  a  '  hanging  judge  ' 
so  often  wears  the  black  cap,  says  :  '  It  may,  in  the 
'  eyes  of  many,  be  a  better  English  ;  but  it  is  not 
'  the  English  of  Daniel,  or  Raleigh,  or  Bacon,  as  any 
'  one  may  easily  perceive.  It  abounds,  in  fact,  especi- 
*  ally  in  the  Old  Testament,  with  obsolete  phraseology, 


DIVISIONS  OF  THE   CHAPTERS  99 

*  and  with  single  words  long  since  abandoned,  or  retained 
'  only  in  provincial  use.'  This  was  due  probably  in 
part  to  the  influence  of  Tyndale,  himself  influenced  in 
turn,  more  than  he  knew,  by  Wiclif — many  of  whose 
phrases  had  become  proverbial — and  his  revisers  ;  and 
in  part  to  the  determination  of  the  translators  to  intro- 
duce as  few  novelties  as  possible.  And  it  has  been  well 
asked  :  '  If  it  had  been  the  English  of  the  men  of  letters 
'  of  James's  reign,  would  it  have  retained  as  it  has  done, 
'  for  two  centuries  and  a  half,  its  hold  on  the  mind,  the 
'  memory,  the  affections  of  the  English  people  ?  '  Besides, 
as  Professor  Davidson  put  it,  in  a  plea  for  delicate 
handling  of  this  archaic  element  in  the  Authorized  Version 
on  the  part  of  the  Revisers,  of  whom  he  was  one  of  the 
most  distinguished,  '  It  is  a  certain  advantage  for  Scrip- 
'  ture  to  have  an  archaic  cast  about  it  ;  it  makes  it 
'  venerable,  and  it  seems  to  speak  to  us  a  language  above 
'that  devoted  to  common  things.'  Neither  this  zeal  of 
the  translators  for  the  purest  English,  nor  their  desire  to 
be  loyal  to  all  that  was  best  in  the  past  of  the  national 
language  and  literature,  was  surprising  in  the  England 
of  161 1  ;  for  it  was  the  England  of  Shakespeare  and 
Spenser,  of  Hooker  and  Bacon,  as  well  as  of  the  con- 
tending Puritans  and  High  Churchmen — and  as  yet  there 
was  no  divorce  between  culture  and  passionate  devotion 
to  the  truth  of  God. 

*  Rule  V. — The  divisions  of  the  chapters  to  be 
'  altered  either  not  at  all,  or  as  little  as  may  be, 
*  if  necessity  so  require.' 

This  deals  with  what  was  but  a  detail,  although  an 
important  one  ;  and  it  would  have  been  well  if  advantage 
had  been  taken  of  such  an  excellent  opportunity  to  get 
rid  of  divisions  which  are  frequently  arbitrary  and  mis- 
leading, as  is  manifest  to  every  careful  reader.  An 
examination  of  the  breaks  between  the  fifty-second  and 
fifty-third  chapters  of  Isaiah,  or  the  ninth  and  tenth 
chapters  of  Matthew — to  mention  two  out  of  many — will 
show  how  faulty  the  division  is  which  still  prevails. 
English  Churchmen  have  pointed  out  how  ludicrous  the 


loo  RULES  FOR    THE   TRANSLATORS 

effect    sometimes    is    in   reading   the   lesson   which   ends 

with    Acts    2 1 .    40,    where  the    reader    can    hardly    help 

making  it  finish,  '  "  He  spake  unto  them  in  the  Hebrew 

tongue,  saying,"  here  endeth  the  second  lesson.' 

*  Rule  VI. — No  marginal  notes  at  all  to  be  affixed, 
'  but  only  for  the  explanation  of  the  Hebrew  or 
'  Greek  words  which  cannot,  without  some  circum- 
'  locution,  so  briefly  and  fitly  be  expressed  in  the 
'  text.' 

Historically  viewed,  this  was  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  these  instructions,  and  the  furthest -reaching  in 
its  effects.  It  probably  did  more  than  anything  else, 
on  the  negative  side,  to  make  the  Authorized  Version 
the  Bible  of  all  classes  in  the  community.  The  absence 
of  sectarian  and  controversial  notes,  such  as  were  common 
in  other  versions,  lifted  the  book  above  the  strife  of 
parties  and  gathered  the  whole  nation  round  it  in 
allegiance  to  the  evangelic  faith.  It  is  true  that  many 
of  the  notes  in  the  former  versions  had  been  of  great 
service,  especially  when  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
vernacular  was  a  new  thing,  when  evangelical  preaching 
was  far  from  common,  and  useful  commentaries  were 
unknown.  Yet  if  similar  notes  had  been  bound  up  with 
the  Authorized  Version,  there  would  probably  have  been 
an  unhallowed  rivalry  to-day  in  the  place  where  every 
warring  voice  should  be  hushed.  Even  if  they  had  not 
gone  so  far  as  to  impose  on  the  Church  '  the  Calvinism  of 
'  the  Synod  of  Dort,  the  absolutism  of  James,  the  high- 
*  flying  prelacy  of  Bancroft,'  we  would  probably  have 
had  sectarian  and  denominational  Bibles,  as  we  have 
sectarian  and  denominational  hymn-books  and  magazines. 
Men  might  still  have  been  saying,  '  I  am  of  Tyndale, 
'  I  am  of  Geneva,  or  I  am  of  King  James.' 

Sometimes  when  we  are  oppressed,  in  our  own  time, 
by  the  rivalries  which  obscure  the  Gospel  message,  and 
create  an  atmosphere  of  unbelief,  in  which  even  the 
Omnipotent  and  All-Gracious  Saviour  can  '  do  no  mighty 
'  works  '  amongst  us,  we  reflect,  '  What  a  blessing  it  is 
'  that   we   have   only   one  Bible  '  ;     and   many   a   cogent 


MARGINAL  REFERENCES  loi 

argument  for  unity  has  been  based  on  the  fact  that 
all  the  churches  and  most  of  the  sects  accept 
the  authority  of  the  one  Book.  But  suppose  that 
even  that  had  been  otherwise — and  we  owe  it  to  the 
absence  of  theological  and  controversial  notes  that  it 
is  not  otherwise — the  Authorized  Version  could  never 
have  won  the  supremacy  to  which  it  so  soon  attained 
if  it  had  had  notes  as  former  versions  had  ;  nor  could 
it  have  brought  the  English-speaking  peoples  face  to 
face  with  the  undiluted  Word  '  without  note  or  com- 
'  ment,'  as  it  has  done,  but  for  the  operation  of  this 
happy  rule. 

The  non -controversial  notes  which  were  appended  were 
of  much  value,  even  if  they  did  not  always  shed  as 
much  light  on  the  text  as  they  were  intended  to  do. 
They  explain  Hebrew  words  retained  in  the  text  ;  add 
explanations  as  to  money,  measures,  and  weights  ;  and 
give  literal  translations  where  the  original  has  been 
altered  to  suit  English  idioms.  These  last  are  still 
of  great  importance,  and  in  the  Revised  Version  not  a 
few  of  them  were  transferred  from  the  margin  to  the 
text.  It  was  asserted,  indeed,  in  1659,  by  Dr.  Gell,  in 
an  '  Essay  towards  the  Amendment  of  the  last  English 
'  Translation,'  '  that  the  translators  have  placed  some 
'  different  significations  in  the  margin,  but  those  most- 
*  what  the  better,  because  where  truth  is  tried  by  most 
'  voices  it  is  commonly  outvoted.'  How  far  this  was 
true  it  is  not  possible  to  say  now,  but  it  is  not  very 
credible  ;  and  present-day  scholarship  would  not  support 
the  burden  of  the  charge  on  its  merits. 

'Rule  Vn. — Such  quotations  of  places  to  be 
'  marginally  set  down,  as  shall  serve  for  a  fit 
'  reference  of  one  Scripture  to  another.' 

This  was  the  recognition  of  the  principle  that 
Scripture  is  its  own  best  interpreter  ;  and  everyone 
who  makes  use  of  the  marginal  references  in  our  Bible 
knows  how  helpful  they  are.  In  the  original  issues 
of  the  Authorized  Version  these  marginal  references 
numbered  somewhere  about  nine  thousand  ;    but  in  some 


I02  RULES  FOR   THE   TRANSLATORS 

modern  editions  as  many  as  sixty  thousand  may  be 
found.  They  are  meant  to  exhibit  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit  more  clearly,  and  by  comparison  to  bring  out 
more  fully  the  meaning  of  individual  passages  ;  and 
while  occasionally  the  reference  when  it  is  consulted 
does  not  seem  very  obvious,  they  usually  serve  their 
purpose  in  a  helpful  fashion. 

'Rule  VIII. — Every  particular  man  of  each 
'  company  to  take  the  same  chapter  or  chapters  ; 
'  and  having  translated  or  amended  them  severally 
'  by  himself,  where  he  thinketh  good,  all  to  meet 
'  together,  confer  what  they  have  done,  and  agree 
'  for  their  parts  what  shall  stand.' 

This  is  one  of  the  precautions  which  were  taken  to 
secure  that  along  with  the  advantages  of  individual  action 
and  initiative  there  would  also  be  the  advantages  of 
co-operation  and  common  supervision.  Some  of  the 
earlier  versions  had  borne  too  many  traces  of  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  the  individual  workers.  It  had  been 
so,  for  example,  with  Wiclif's  Bible  ;  and  part  of  the 
value  of  Purvey's  revision  consisted  in  the  way  in  which 
the  work  done  by  Nicholas  of  Hereford  was  brought 
into  harmony  with  what  Wiclif  himself  had  done.  It 
had  been  so  also  with  the  Bishops'  Bible.  The  initials 
of  some  of  the  translators  of  that  version  even  appear 
at  the  end  of  their  several  '  parcels .'  Archbishop  Parker 
thought  that  to  do  so  would  '  make  them  more  diligent 
'and  answerable  for  their  doings.'  But  however  diligent 
it  may  have  made  them,  their  gifts  and  opportunities 
were  not  the  same,  any  more  than  their  standard  of 
excellence,  and  their  joint  work  bore  traces  of  all  this. 

'  Rule  IX. — As  any  one  company  hath  dispatched 
'  any  one  book  in  this  manner,  they  shall  send  it 
'  to  the  rest,  to  be  considered  by  them  seriously 
'  and  judiciously  ;  for  His  Majesty  is  very  careful 
'  on  this  point.' 


REVIEWING    THE  REVISIONS  103 

This  was  merely  an  extension  of  the  principle  under- 
lying the  preceding  rule  ;  for  companies  might  have 
idiosyncrasies  as  well  as  individual  workmen.  Why  the 
King  was  specially  concerned  about  this  is  not  very 
obvious  ;  but  in  so  far  as  his  urgency  helped  to  secure 
the  uniformity  which  resulted,  we  have  cause  to  be 
grateful  to  him  for  it.  Strangely  enough,  however,  in 
spite  of  this  mention  of  the  royal  anxiety,  this  is  the 
one  instruction  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been  con- 
sistently obeyed  ;  probably  owing  to  the  exigencies  of 
time.  At  any  rate,  there  is  no  evidence  that  what  is 
here  enjoined  was  thoroughly  done.  All  the  same, 
whether  it  is  due  to  the  spirit  of  this  instruction  or 
to  the  manner  in  which  its  companion-instruction  was 
carried  out,  there  is  a  marvellous  unity  of  impression 
all  the  way  through  from  Genesis  to  Revelation. 
Although  nearly  fifty  men  were  at  work  in  producing 
this  Book,  it  cannot  be  said  that  any  of  them  have  left 
the  marks  of  their  tools  on  what  they  did.  It  is  indeed 
one  Book,  and  not  many. 

'  Rule  X. — If  any  company,  upon  the  review  of 
'  the  book  so  sent,  doubt  or  differ  upon  any  place, 
'  to  send  them  word  thereof,  note  the  place,  and 
'  withal  send  the  reasons  ;  to  which  if  they  consent 
'  not,  the  difference  to  be  compounded  at  a  general 
'  meeting,  which  is  to  be  of  the  chief  persons  of 
'  each  company  at  the  end  of  the  work.' 

'  Rule  XI  .—When  any  place  of  special  obscurity 
'  is  doubted  of,  letters  to  be  directed  by  authority, 
'  to  send  to  any  learned  man  in  the  land  for  his 
'judgement  of  such  a  place.' 

These  rules  serve  further  to  indicate  how  carefully 
this  work  was  planned  and  how  well  it  was  done.  They 
may  also  inspire  reflections  as  to  how  different  all  this 
was  from  the  circumstances  in  which  Tyndale  as  well 
as  some  of  his  noble  followers  had  had  to  do  their  work. 
They  also  serve  to  account  for  the  large  measure  of 
perfection  which  was  undoubtedly  attained  in  161 1 .  The 
Authorized  Version  won  on  its  merits  ;    and  these  were 


I04  RULES  FOR   THE   TRANSLATORS 

due  above  all  else  to  the  tact  and  care,  the  diligence 
and  faithfulness,  and  the  consecrated  scholarship  of  the 
translators.  Nothing  was  overlooked  that  would  make 
for  accuracy,  in  their  discovery  of  the  meaning  of  their 
text  and  in  their  expression  of  that  meaning.  Those 
who  drew  up  their  instructions  magnified  the  office  of 
the  translators  ;  and  they  in  turn  rose  to  the  height 
of  their  lofty  calling, 

'  Rule  XII. — Letters  to  be  sent  from  every  bishop 

*  to  the  rest  of  his  clergy,  admonishing  them  of 
'  this  translation  in  hand,  and  to  move  and  charge 
'  as  many  as,  being  skilful  in  tongues,  and  having 
'  taken   pains   in   that   kind,   to   send   his   particular 

*  observations  to  the  company,  either  at  Westminster, 
'  Cambridge,  or  Oxford,  according  as  it  was  directed 
'before  in  the  King's  letter  to  the  Archbishop.' 

'Rule  XIII. — The  directors  in  each  company  to 
'  be  the  deans  of  Westminster  and  Chester  for  that 

*  place,  and  the  King's  professors  in  Hebrew  and 
'  Greek  in  either  University.' 

England  had  many  learned  men  in  King  James's  time, 
and  their  learning  had  turned  largely  to  theology  and 
kindred  studies.  'Theology  rules  there,'  said  Grotius 
regarding  England,  ten  years  after  Queen  Elizabeth's 
death  ;  and  when  Casaubon,  the  last  of  the  great 
scholars  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  invited  to  England 
by  King  James,  he  found  both  King  and  people 
indifferent  to  letters  in  the  ordinary  sense .  '  There  is 
'  a  great  abundance  of  theologians  in  England,'  he  said 
to  a  friend  ;  '  all  point  their  studies  in  that  direction.' 
And  this  learning  was  fully  taken  advantage  of  for  the 
great  national  enterprise  of  securing  for  the  people  a 
national  Bible  such  as  had  never  been  secured  before. 

'  Rule  XIV. — These  translations  to  be  used,  when 
'  they  agree  better  with  the  text  than  the  Bishops' 
'  Bible  ;  viz.,  Tyndale's,  Matthew's,  Coverdale's, 
'  Whitchurch's,   Geneva.' 


NICKNAMES  OF  EARLY   VERSIONS  105 

By  Whitchurch's  was  meant  the  Great  Bible,  that  book 
with  so  many  names,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  printers. 
In  this  connection  it  may  be  remarked  how  curious  it 
is  that  so  many  nicknames  were  given  to  these  early 
versions  and  editions.  Already  we  have  come  across 
the  '  Treacle  Bible  '  and  the  '  Breeches  Bible  '  as  used 
respectively  to  describe  Coverdale's  version  and  the 
Genevan.  There  was  also  an  edition  of  the  latter  called 
the  '  Whig  Bible,'  from  a  printer's  blunder  which  made 
Matt.  5.  9  read  :  '  Blessed  are  the  place  makers.'  There 
is  also  the  '  Vinegar  Bible,'  from  a  misprint  in  the 
heading  of  the  Parable  of  the  Vineyard,  in  Luke  20., 
which  appeared  as  the  Parable  of  the  Vinegar  ;  and 
many  others  with  equally  whimsical  designations.  There 
is  even  the  '  Wicked  Bible  '  ;  that  name  having  been 
given  to  an  edition  of  the  Authorized  Version  in  1631, 
in  which  the  Seventh  Commandment  appeared  with  the 
'  not  '  left  out  ;  a  blunder  which  led  to  a  fine  of  £300 
being  inflicted  on  the  King's  printer  by  Archbishop 
Laud . 

It  was  only  what  was  due  to  his  memory  and  work 
that  Tyndale's  name  was  put  in  the  forefront  in  this 
instruction  ;  and  it  should  never  be  forgotten  in  this 
connection  that  with  the  exception  of  Coverdale's,  which 
was  hardly  in  the  direct  line,  the  various  Bibles  here 
set  forth  as  guides  were  for  the  most  part  no  more 
than  Tyndale's  in  various  stages  of  revision.  His 
translation  is  the  real  foundation  of  our  English  Bible  ; 
and  with  regard  to  Coverdale,  it  ought  always  to  be 
borne  in  mind- that  if  his  version  is  not  in  the  direct 
line,  he  himself  is.  Even  apart  from  the  Bible  which 
bears  his  name,  he  had  a  large  share  in  the  preparation 
of  the  Great  Bible  ;  and  probably  a  small  share  in  the 
preparation  of  its  rival,  the  Geneva  version.  *  No  little 
'  of  that  indefinable  quality,'  says  Dr.  Eadie,  *  that  gives 
'  popular  charm  to  our  English  Bible,  and  has  endeared 
'  it  to  so  many  generations,  is  owing  to  Coverdale.' 
*  Tyndale  gave  us  the  first  great  outline  distinctly  and 
'  wonderfully  etched,  but  Coverdale  added  those  minuter 
'  touches  which  soften  and  harmonize  it.'  The  man  to 
whom  we  thus  owe  so  much  has  been  described  as  an 


io6  RULES  FOR   THE   TRANSLATORS 

honest  and  well-meaning,  but  a  very  ordinary  plodding 
sort  of  man,  like  whom  there  can  be  found  ten  thousand 
any  day  in  London,  with  no  remarkable  ability  for  either 
good  or  evil.  But,  as  Dr.  Eadie  remarks,  '  whatever 
'  his  ability,  Coverdale  did  his  own  work,  when  none 
'  of  the  "  ten  thousand  "  thought  of  attempting  it  ;    and 

*  though  his  talent  was  certainly  not  transcendent,  it 
'  qualified   him   to   be   the    first   to    give   a    whole    Bible 

*  to   the    English   people,    and   to   edit   the    Great    Bible, 

*  which  for  so  many  years  occupied  a  high  place.' 

No  mention  is  made  in  this  instruction  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  versions  ;  but  that  was  probably  because  the 
Douai  Old  Testament  had  not  appeared  when  the  work 
of  the  translators  began.  As  it  only  appeared  in  1609, 
it  cannot  have  played  any  important  part  in  the  transla- 
tion ;  but,  as  has  already  been  shown,  it  was  quite 
different  with  the  Rheims  New  Testament.  In  their 
determination  to  make  their  work  as  perfect  as  they 
could,  the  translators  took  advantage  of  help  from  every 
available  source. 


Chapter   IV 
THE  TRANSLATORS'   PREFACE 


107 


'  Wonderfully  is  the  Bible  adapted  to  all  the  varying  circumstances  and 
necessities  of  the  believer's  life.  There  is  a  fulness  in  it  which  meets  every 
want,  and  yet  can  never  be  exhausted  ;  an  interest  ever  fresh,  ever  new. 
We  can  never  outgrow  its  help,  or  reach  a  stage  of  spiritual  advancement 
when  it  can  no  longer  lead  us.  It  ever  goes  before,  drawing  out  and 
educating  every  spiritual  perception,  satisfying  every  spiritual  need,  and 
yet  ever  giving  us  a  sense  of  infinite  fulness.' — Dr.  Hugh  Macmillan. 


Chapter  IV 
THE    TRANSLATORS'    PREFACE 

IT  is  very  unfortunate  that  the  Preface  to  the  Authorized 
Version — in  which  the  translators  justify  the  demand 
for  a  new  version,  show  why  this  should  shake  no  man's 
faith,  give  an  account  of  previous  translations,  and 
indicate  the  chief  principles  and  considerations  which 
guided  them  in  their  work — should  be  as  little  known 
as  the  Dedication  to  King  James  is  well  known.  For 
the  Preface  is  incomparably  the  more  important  docu- 
ment of  the  two.  There  is  much  in  its  wise  and  weighty 
words  which  would  be  of  interest  at  any  time,  but  which 
is  of  special  interest  at  this  Tercentenary  time  ;  and 
which  also  gathers  much  of  the  history  of  the  transla- 
tion around  it.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  its  great 
length  prevents  its  reproduction  here — it  extends  to  well- 
nigh  twelve  thousand  words — for  it  is  a  great  historical 
document,  a  far-reaching  State  Paper  with  which  every 
student  of  Scripture  should  be  familiar. 

The  preparation  of  it  is  usually  attributed  to  Dr. 
Miles  Smith,  who  became  Bishop  of  Gloucester. 
Probably,  however,  he  had  the  assistance  of  others  in 
drawing  up  a  statement  of  such  importance.  Certainly 
others  would  take  part  in  its  revisal.  As  it  is  too 
long  to  be  quoted  in  extenso,  a  summary  must  suffice, 
with  sufficient  quotation  to  present  the  argument  of  the 
translators  and  their  line  of  thought  in  their  own  words. 

In  the  first  three  paragraphs  they  show  how  inevitable 
it  was  that  such  an  undertaking  as  theirs  should  be  met 
with  criticism,  and  even  with  bitter  opposition.  It  had 
always    been    so,    in    ancient    Israel,    in    the    Empire    of 

Rome,  in  Jerome's  time,  and  in  their  own  day,  and  would 

109 


no  THE   TRANSLATORS'   PREFACE 

continue  to  be  so  till  the  end  of  time .  '  Zeal  to  promote 
'  the  common  good,  whether  it  be  by  devising  any  thing 
'  ourselves,  or  revising  that  which  hath  been  laboured 
'  by  others,  deserveth  certainly  much  respect  and  esteem, 
'  but  yet  findeth  but  cold  entertainment  in  the  world. 
'  It  is  welcomed  with  suspicion  instead  of  love,  and 
'  with    emulation    instead    of    thanks  :     and    if    there    be 

*  any  hole  left  for  cavil  to  enter  (and  cavil,  if  it  do 
'  not    find    an    hole,    will    make    one),    it    is    sure    to    be 

*  misconstrued,  and  in  danger  to  be  condemned.  This 
'  will  easily  be  granted  by  as  many  as  know  story,  or 
'  have   any   experience.    ...  So   hard   a   thing   it   is   to 

*  please  all,  even  when  we  please  God  best,  and  do 
'  seek  to  approve  ourselves  to   every  one's   conscience.' 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  opposition,  real  although 
it  was,  was  not  nearly  so  inveterate  or  prolonged  as 
they  seem  to  have  anticipated  ;  and  their  triumph  was 
wonderfully  complete  when  it  came.  What  they  had 
to  face  was  nothing  to  what  Jerome  had  experienced  ; 
and  it  is  hardly  possible  to  reason  from  the  opposition 
which  was  shown  to  the  Authorized  Version  when  it 
first  appeared  to  the  '  passive  resistance  '  which  has  been 
shown  to  the  Revised  Version  ;  an  attitude  which  seems 
to  have  become  chronic  if  not  actually  permanent.  In 
spite  of  fierce  conflicts  in  Church  and  State,  and  all 
the  horrors  and  preoccupations  of  Civil  War,  it  may 
be  in  part  because  of  these,  the  new  translation 
made  its  way  with  unwonted  rapidity  ;  scattering  the 
clouds  of  prejudice  and  hatred  until  ere  long  it  was 
the  Bible  of  the  English  nation  and  of  all  the  English- 
speaking  peoples  in  the  homelands  and  beyond  the  seas, 
as  no  other  had  ever  been  before,  and  as  no  other 
seems  likely  to  be  again. 

The  translators  themselves  give  King  James  much  of 
the  credit  due  for  carrying  the  great  enterprise  through 
to  a  triumphant  issue.  '  He  that  meddleth  with  men's 
'  religion  in  any  part  meddleth  with  their  custom,  nay, 
'  with  their  freehold  ;  and  though  they  find  no  content 
'  in    that    which    they    have,    yet    they    cannot    abide    to 

*  hear  of  altering.  Notwithstanding,  his  royal  heart  was 
'  not    daunted    or    discouraged    for   this    or   that    colour, 


THE  KING'S  FAVOUR  in 

*  but  stood  resolute,  as  a  statue  immoveable,  and  an 
'  anvil  not  easy  to  be  beaten  into  plates,  as  one  saith  ; 
'  he  knew  Who  had  chosen  him  to  be  a  soldier,  or 
'  rather  a  captain  ;  and  being  assured  that  the  course 
'  which  he  intended  made  much  for  the  glory  of,  and 
'  the   building   up    of   His    Church,   he   would   not    suffer 

*  it  to  be  broken  off  for  whatsoever  speeches  or  practices.' 

Even  if  this  is  here  stated  in  somewhat  grandiloquent 
language  it  is  essentially  the  truth.  But  for  James, 
whatever  his  motives  were,  it  seems  fairly  certain  that 
nothing  would  have  been  done  ;  or  that  at  best  there 
would  have  been  some  sectional  revision  which  would 
have  simply  added  another  rival  to  those  already  in 
the  field.  There  was  no  widespread  enthusiasm  for  a 
nev/  version  ;  and  evidently  from  the  tone  of  this 
exordium  of  the  Preface  the  hostility  to  it  was  both 
keen  and  persistent.  Some  have  given  Dr.  Reynolds 
credit  for  adroitness  in  taking  advantage  of  the  preju- 
dices and  weaknesses  of  the  King  to  attain  his  end  ; 
but  there  is  no  good  ground  for  such  a  suggestion. 
So  far  as  the  record  goes  there  was  nothing  adroit  in 
the  way  in  which  he  presented  his  case  at  Hampton 
Court.  It  was  not  of  any  man's  adroitness,  nor  even 
of  the  King's  prejudices,  but  of  God  that  this  great 
weapon  for  the  advancement  of  His  kingdom  was 
forged  as  it  was.  He  was  overruling  the  strifes  and 
weaknesses  of  men  for  His  own  glory  and  for  the  good 
of  those  who  were  out  of  the  way. 

In  the  fourth  paragraph  an  earnest  and  finely -expressed 
tribute  is  paid  to  the  unapproachable  excellence  of  the 
Scriptures.  '  It  is  not  only  an  armour,  but  also  a  whole 
'  armoury    of    weapons,    both    offensive    and    defensive  ; 

*  whereby  we  may  save  ourselves,  and  put  the  enemy 
'  to  flight .  It  is  not  a  herb,  but  a  tree,  or  rather  a 
'  whole  paradise  of  trees  of  life,  which  bring  forth  fruit 
'  every  month,  and  the  fruit  thereof  is  for  meat,  and 
'  the  leaves  for  medicine .  It  is  not  a  pot  of  Manna, 
'  or   a   cruse   of   oil,   which   were   for   memory    only,    or 

*  for  a  meal's  meat  or  two  ;  but,  as  it  were,  a  shower 
'  of  heavenly  bread  sufficient  for  a  whole  host,  be  it 
'  never    so    great,    and,    as    it   were,    a   whole   cellar   full 


112  THE    TRANSLATORS'  PREFACE 

'  of  oil  vessels  ;  whereby  all  our  necessities  may  be 
'provided   for,   and   our   debts   discharged.      In  a  word, 

*  it  is  a  panary  of  wholesome  food  against  fenowed 
'traditions;    a  physician's   shop    (as   St.   Basil   calls   it) 

*  of  preservatives  against  poisoned  heresies  ;    a  pandect 

*  of  profitable  laws  against  rebellious  spirits  ;    a  treasury 

*  of  most  costly  jewels  against  beggarly  rudiments  ; 
'  finally,  a  fountain  of  most  pure  water  springing  up 
'  unto  everlasting  life .  And  what  matter  ?  the  original 
'  thereof  being  from  heaven,  not  from  earth  ;  the  author 
'  being  God,  not  man  ;  the  inditer,  the  Holy  Spirit,  not 
'  the  wit  of  the  Apostles  or  Prophets  ;  the  penmen, 
'  such  as  were  sanctified  from  the  womb,  and  endued 
'  with  a  principal  portion  of  God's  Spirit  ;    the  matter, 

*  verity,  piety,  purity,  uprightness  ;   the  form,  God's  word, 

*  God's  testimony,  God's  oracles,  the  word  of  truth,  the 
'  word  of  salvation,  &c.  ;  the  effects,  light  of  under- 
'  standing,  stableness  of  persuasion,  repentance  from  dead 
'  works,  newness  of  life,  holiness,  peace,  joy  in  the  Holy 
'  Ghost  ;    lastly,  the  end  and  reward  of  the  study  thereof, 

*  fellowship  with  the  saints,  participation  of  the  heavenly 
'  nature,  fruition  of  an  inheritance  immortal,  undefiled, 
'  and  that   never   shall   fade  away.      Happy  is   the   man 

*  that  delighteth  in  the  Scripture,  and  thrice  happy  that 

*  meditateth  in  it  day  and  night.' 

The  translators  were  great  scholars,  for  the  most  part  ; 
and  some  of  them  were  also  keen  ecclesiastics  ;  but 
first  of  all  they  were  devout  Christian  men  who  had 
tasted  and  seen  for  themselves  that  God  is  good.  That 
was  their  inspiration  in  their  determination  to  give  the 
people  their  best,  and  God's  Spirit  was  their  guide 
throughout.  Naturally,  therefore,  they  proceeded  in  the 
next  place  to  show  that  in  proportion  as  men  recognized 
this  incomparable  value  of  Scripture,  they  must  also 
recognize  the  necessity  for  rendering  it  into  the 
vernacular  tongues.  Those  who  oppose  such  transla- 
tion on  any  plea  whatsoever  are  open  to  the  suggestion 
that  the  Bible  has  never  been  all  to  them  that  it  can 
be  to  those  who  wait  on  God.  Those  who  value  the 
light  will  agree  with  the  translators  that  the  window 
should  be  thrown  wide  open  that  the  light  may  stream 


TRANSLATION  DESCRIBED  113 

in.     Those  who  have  drunk  of  the  living  water  them- 
selves   will    feel   the    force    of   the    translators*    plea    for 
a  bucket  being  put  beside  the  well  that  others  may  draw 
too.      Each    nation    may    think    every    other    language 
barbarous    but    its    own  ;    but    however    barbarous    any 
tongue   may  be,   it  is  through   it  alone  that   those   who 
speak  it  can  hear  the  Oracles  of  God  with  understand- 
ng  hearts.     'Translation  it  is  that  openeth  the  window, 
to   let   in  the   light  ;    that   breaketh  the   shell,   that  we 
may    eat    the    kernel  ;     that  putteth    aside    the    curtain, 
that    we    may    look    into    the    most    holy    place  ;     that 
removeth   the    cover   of   the    well,    that    we    may    come 
by   the   water  ;     even   as   Jacob   rolled   away   the    stone 
from  the  mouth  of  the  well,  by  which  means  the  flocks 
of    Laban    were    watered.      Indeed,    without   translation 
into    the    vulgar    tongue,    the    unlearned    are    but    like 
children   at   Jacob's   well    (which   was   deep)    without  a 
bucket  or  something  to  draw  with  ;    or  as  that  person 
mentioned  by  Esay,  to  whom  when  a  sealed  book  was 
delivered    with    this    motion,    Read    this,    I    pray    ihee, 
he   was   fain  to   make  this   answer,   /   cannot,   for  it  is 
sealed.' 
In  the  three  paragraphs  which  follow  this  plea  there 
is   an    interesting   account   of  the   Septuagint   and   other 
Greek  versions,  of  the  Vulgate  and  other  Latin  versions, 
and  of  the  various  translations  into  the  languages  of  the 
Dalmatians,     Syrians,     Egyptians,     Persians,     and    other 
peoples,   including  the   Saxons.      Beda,   as   they  tell   us, 
is  reported  by  Cistertiensis  to  have  turned  a  great  part 
of  the  Scriptures  into  Saxon  ;    and  on  the  same  authority. 
King    Alured    is    said    to    have    turned    the    Psalter    into 
Saxon .      There  are   other   two   noteworthy   references   in 
this  section.     '  Much  about  that  time,  even  in  our  King 
'  Richard  the  Second's  time,  John  Trevisa  translated  them 
'  into  English,  and  many  English  Bibles  in  written  hand 
'  are  yet  to  be  seen  that  divers  translated,  as  it  is  very 
'probable,  in  that  age.' 

As  already  indicated,  this  statement  rests  on  a  very 
slender  foundation  as  regards  John  of  Trevisa  ;  and  on 
no    foundation    at    all    otherwise.      The    era    of    literary 

criticism    had    not    yet    come,    and    statements    such    as 
...  I 


114  THE   TRANSLATORS'  PREI^ACE 

this  were  handed  down  without  any  adequate  sifting 
or  verification.  The  manuscript  Bibles  which  were  to 
be  seen  then  are  still  to  be  seen,  just  as  they  were 
seen  by  Sir  Thomas  More  in  his  day,  and  are  nothing 
more  than  copies  of  the  Purvey  revision  of  Wiclif's 
translation,  and  executed  in  that  generation.  The  other 
reference  is  to  '  the  Lord  Cromwell  '  as  a  friend  of 
translation  work  ;  and  it  does  no  more  than  justice  to  one 
to  whom  that  sacred  cause  owed  much  in  the  dark  days 
when  it  had  no  royal  patron,  and  had  to  be  done  in 
secret  and  at  a  great  cost. 

The   ninth   paragraph   deals   briefly   with   the   attitude 
of  the   Church  of  Rome  to  this   work   of  l-endering  the 
Scriptures  into  the  vernacular  ;     and  although   the  con- 
flict   was    very    fierce    in   those    days,   and    involved   the 
very    existence    of    the    nation    as    great    and    free,    this 
controversial  matter  is  dealt  with  temperately  and  without 
bitterness.     The  position  is  stated,  however,  with  perfect 
candour   and   with    considerable   pungency.      '  So    much 
are  they  afraid  of  the  light  of  the  Scripture   {lucifugae 
Scripturaram,    as    TertuUian    speaketh)    that    they    will 
not  trust  the  people  with  it,  no,  not  as  it  is  set  forth 
by  their  own  sworn  men,   no,   not  with  the  licence  of 
their  own  Bishops  and  Inquisitors.     Yea,  so  unwilling 
are  they  to  communicate  the  Scriptures  to  the  people's 
understanding  in  any  sort,  that  they  are  not  ashamed 
to    confess,    that    we    forced   them    to    translate    it    into 
English    against    their    wills.      This    seemeth    to    argue 
a  bad  cause,  or  a  bad  conscience,  or  both.' 
The    translators    deal    next    with    the    various    specific 
objections    which    had    been    taken    to    their    work,    and 
these  seem  to  have  been  very  varied  as  well  as  numerous. 
There  were  those  who  held  that  there  was  no  need  for 
a    new    English    version,    and    who    suggested    that    any 
such  translation  would  cast  a  slight  on  the  earlier  English 
Bibles    to    which    they    owed    so    much.      These    were 
answered   first  in  the   words   of  Jerome,   who  had   gone 
through  the   same   kind   of   controversy  :     *  Do   we   con- 
'  demn     the     ancient  ?       In     no     case  ;     but     after     the 

*  endeavours  of  them  that  were  before  us,  we  take  the 

*  best  pains  we  can  in  the  house  of  God.'     The  translators 


FORMER   TRANSLATIONS  115 

also  offered  an  answer  in  their  own  words  :  '  And  to 
'  the  same  effect  say  we,  that  we  are  so  far  from  con- 

*  demning  any  of  their  labours  that  travelled  before  us 
'  in  this  kind,  either  in  this  land,  or  beyond  sea,  either 

*  in  King  Henery's  time,  or  King  Edward's  (if  there  were 

*  any  translation,  or  correction  of  a  translation,  in  his 
'  time),  or  gueen  Elizabeth's  of  ever  renowned  memory, 
'  that  we  acknowledge  them  to  have  been  raised  up  of 
'  God   for  the   building  and   furnishing   of   His    Church, 

*  and  that  they  deserve  to  be  had  of  us  and  of  posterity 
'in  everlasting  remembrance.  .  .  .  Therefore,  blessed 
'  be  they,  and  most  honoured  be  their  name,  that  break 
'  the  ice,  and  give  the  onzet  upon  that  which  helpeth 
'  forward  to   the   saving   of   souls.' 

But  there  were  other  adversaries  who  made  play  of 
the  admission  that  former  versions  were  useless  or  worse, 
and  discredited  the  position  of  those  who  demanded 
the  Scriptures  in  the  vernacular.  To  all  such  we  reply, 
says  the  Preface,  *  that  we  do  not  deny,  nay,  we  affirm 

*  and  avow,  that  the  very  meanest  translation  of  the 
'  Bible  in  English^  set  forth  by  men  of  our  profession 
'  (for  we  have  seen  none  of  their's  of  the  whole  Bible 
'  as  yet),  containeth  the  word  of  God,  nay,  is  the  word 
'  of  God.  ...  A  man  may  be  counted  a  virtuous  man, 
'  though  he  have  made  many  slips  in  his  life,  also  a 
'  comely  man  and  lovely,  although  he  have  some  warts 
'  upon  his  hand.  .  .  .  No  cause  therefore  why  the  word 
'  translated  should  be  denied  to  be  the  word,  or  for- 
'  bidden  to  be  current,  notwithstanding  that  some 
'  imperfections  and  blemishes  may  be  noted  in  the 
'  setting  forth  of  it.'  God's  Word  is  still  God's  Word, 
no  matter  what  may  be  the  language  in  which  it  appears  ; 
and  as  for  perfection,  what  was  very  perfect  under  the 
sun,  apart  from  the  work  of  those  who,  like  the 
Apostles,  were  endued  with  the  privilege  of  infallibility  ? 
The  Septuagint  itself  was  far  from  being  perfect,  yet 
the  Apostles  used  it.  They  were  ready  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  best  they  had,  and  to  hear  the  truth  from 
any  and  every  source. 

The  Preface  then  deals  very  effectively  with  a  third 
objection    which    was    being    taken    to    their    enterprise, 


ii6  THE   TRANSLATORS'  PREFACE 

based  on  the  number  of  revisions  which  had  already 
been  made.  '  For  to  whom  was  it  ever  imputed  for 
'  a  fault  (by  such  as  were  wise),'  it  asks,  '  to  go  over 
'  that   which   he   had   done   and   to   amend   it   where   he 

*  saw  cause  ?  '  They  also  show  that  Councils  and  Popes 
had  approved  of  the  principle  of  revision  again  and 
again.  The  wise  man  never  makes  a  fetish  of  a  wooden 
or  cast-iron  consistency  which  would  prevent  him  from 
being  wiser  to-day  than  he  was  yesterday,  or  rob  him 
of  any  hope  of  being  wiser  to-morrow  than  he  is  to- 
day. He  is  always  ready  to  revise  what  he  has  done, 
and  improve  it  if  he  can.  That  was  a  working  prin- 
ciple with  all  the  reformers  and  translators  in  the  various 
lands,  when  the  new  light  was  breaking  out  in  every 
direction. 

Having  thus  cleared  the  ground,  the  Preface  proceeds 
to  describe  what  was  the  purpose  of  the  translators 
throughout,  and  this  is  done  in  a  very  modest  and  effec- 
tive fashion.  Their  orders  had  been  to  alter  as  little 
as  they  could  consistently  with  loyalty  to  the  original,  and 
they  had  given  heed  to  this.  It  should  never  be  over- 
looked that  the  Authorized  Version  was  a  revision  rather 
than  a  new  translation.  Indeed,  one  of  the  objections 
urged  against  it  when  it  appeared  was  that  it  was  too 
little   of  a  new  version.      It   was   '  newly  translated   out 

*  of  the  original  tongues  '  ;  but  this  statement  on  the 
title-page  must  be  qualified  by  what  follows  :  *  With 
'  the  former  translations  diligently  compared  and  revised.' 
'  Truly,  good  Christian  Reader,  we  never  thought  from 
'  the  beginning  that  we  should  need  to  make  a  new 
'  translation,  nor  yet  to  make  of  a  bad  one  a  good  one  ; 
'  (for  then  the  imputation  of  Sixtus  had  been  true  in 
'  some  sort,  that  our  people  had  been  fed  with  gall  of 
'  dragons  instead  of  wine,  with  wheal  instead  of  milk  ;) 
'  but  to  make  a  good  one  better,  or  out  of  many  good 
'  ones  one  principal  good  one,  not  justly  to  be  excepted 
'  against  ;  that  hath  been  our  endeavour,  that  our  mark.' 
Yet  it  was  a  genuine  translation,  verified  at  every  step 
by  reference  to  the  sources.  '  If  you  ask  what  they 
'  had  before  them  ;  truly  it  was  the  Hebrew  text  of 
'  the  Old  Testament,  the  Greek  of  the  New.     These  are 


BOW  THEIR    WORK    WAS  DONE  iif 

'  the  two  golden  pipes,  or  rather  conduits,  wherethrough 
'the  olive  branches  empty  themselves  into  the  gold.' 

They  tell,  too,  of  the  kind  of  men  who  were  set  to 
do  this  work  ;  men  who  sought  the  truth  rather  than 
their  own  praise  ;  and  of  how  thoroughly  the  work  was 
done.  They  did  not  huddle  it  through  in  seventy -two 
days,    but    spent    twice   seven    times    seventy-two. 

'  Neither  did  we  think  much  to  consult  the  translators 
'  or  commentators,   Chaldee,   Hebrew,   Syrian,   Greek,  or 

*  Latin  ;    no,  nor  the  Spanish,  French,  Italian,  or  Dutch  ; 

*  neither  did  we  disdain  to  revise  that  which  we  had 
'  done,   and  to  bring  back  to   the   anvil  that   which   we 

*  had  hammered  ;    but  having  and  using  as  great  helps 

*  as  were  needful,  and  fearing  no  reproach  for  slowness, 
'  nor  coveting  praise  for  expedition  we  have  at  length, 

*  through  the  good  hand  of  the  Lord  upon  us,  brought 
'the  work  to  that  pass  that  you  see.'  Nothing  that 
was  really  essential  could  escape  a  company  so  con- 
stituted and  so  minded,  and  as  the  years  have  shown  and 
everybody  testifies,  their  work  was  nobly  done.  Many 
more  exact  renderings  were  introduced,  and  many  graphic 
expressions  which  have  become  household  words .  Taken 
collectively,  the  points  of  agreement  with  the  earlier 
versions  are  more  noticeable  than  the  points  of  diver- 
gence. They  welcomed  happy  renderings  from  every 
quarter  until  their  work  became  a  sort  of  mosaic  of  the 
best  results  of  all  the  previous  versions  ;  and  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  their  work  was  done  enabled  the 
translators  to  look  round  in  quietness  and  see  everything 
that  had  been  already  achieved  as  none  of  their  prede- 
cessors could.  And  yet  with  all  their  borrowing  there 
is  a  general  smoothness  and  consistency  which  prevent 
their  work  from  being  thought  of  as  a  sort  of  patch- 
work. It  is  a  growth  rather  than  a  manufactured  article, 
and  few  marks  of  the  tools  or  traces  of  the  hammer  are 
to  be  seen.  In  the  best  sense,  it  is  both  a  revision  and 
a  translation. 

Thereafter  they  proceed  to  explain  and  vindicate  their 
action  in  including  among  their  marginal  notes  those 
which  dealt  with  alternative  renderings  and  various  read- 
ings.    They  remark  that  in  matters  which  concern  salva- 


ii8  THE   TRANSLATORS'  PREFACE 

tion  the  Scripture  is  plain,  and  they  were  not  among 
those  who  tremble  for  the  ark.  They  saw  distinct 
advantages  in  letting  the  truth  be  known. 

'  Therefore,  as  St.  Augustine  saith,  that  variety  of 
'  translations  is  profitable  for  the  finding  out  of  the 
'  sense   of  the   Scriptures  ;    so   diversity   of   signification 

*  and  sense  in  the  margin,  where  the  text  is  not  so 
'  clear,   must  needs  do  good  ;    yea,   is  necessary,  as  we 

*  are  persuaded .     We  know  that  Sixtus  Quintus  expressly 

*  forbiddeth  that  any  variety  of  readings  of  their  vulgar 

*  edition    shall   be   put   in   the   margin  ;     (which   though 

*  it   be  not  altogether  the   same  thing  to  that  we  have 

*  in  hand,  yet  it  looketh  that  way  ;)  but  we  think  he 
'  hath    not   all    of  his    own    side    his    favourers    for   this 

*  conceit.  They  that  are  wise  had  rather  have  their 
'  judgments    at   liberty   in  diflferences   of   readings,    than 

*  to  be  captivated  to  one,  when  it  may  be  the  other.' 

The  translators  then  proceed  to  deal  with  the  vexed 
question  of  whether  a  word  in  the  original  should  always 
be  rendered  by  the  same  word  in  the  English  ;  and  state 
their  position  with  unbated  breath,  and  in  a  fashion 
which  deserves  to  be  pondered  before  their  practice  is 
roundly   condemned,   as    it   has  so   often   been. 

'  Another  thing  we  think  good  to  admonish  thee  of, 

*  gentle  Reader,  that  we  have  not  tied  ourselves  to  an 
'  .uniformity    of    phrasing,    or   to    an    identity    of    words, 

*  as   some  peradventure   would  wish   that   we   had   done, 

*  because  they  observe,  that  some  learned  men  somewhere 

*  have  been  as  exact  as  they  could  that  way.  Truly, 
'  that  we  might  not  vary  from  the  sense  of  that  which 

*  we  had  translated  before,  if  the  word  signified  the  same 
'  thing  in  both  places,  (for  there  be  some  words  that 
'  be  not  of  the  same  sense  everywhere,)  we  were  especially 
'careful,  and  made  a  conscience  according  to  our  duty.; 
'  But    that    we    should  express    the    same    notion    in    the 

*  same  particular  word  ;    as  for  example,  if  we  translate 

*  the  Hebrew  or  Greek  word  once  by  purpose^  never  to 
'  call  it  intent;  if  one  where  journeying,  never  travelling ; 
'  if  one  where  think,  never  suppose ;  if  one  where  pain^ 
'  never  ache ;  if  one  where  joy,  never  gladness,  &c., 
'  thus  to  mince  the  matter,  we  thought  to  savour  more 


VARIETY  OF  RENDERINGS  119 

'  of  curiosity  than  wisdom,  and  that  rather  it  would  breed 

*  scorn  in  the  atheist,  than  bring  profit  to  the  godly 
'reader.  For  is  the  kingdom  of  God  become  words  or 
'  syllables  ?      Why    should   we   be    in    bondage    to   them, 

*  if  we  may  be  free  ?    use  one  precisely,  when  we  may 

*  use  another  no  less  fit  as  commodiously  ?  ' 

This  has  been  held  by  many  to  be  the  outstanding 
defect  of  the  Authorized  Version,  and  the  Revised 
Version  at  once  joins  issue  here.  Yet  there  are  two 
sides  even  to  this  question,  and  it  might  have  been  well 
had  the  Revisers  given  heed  to  the  weighty  words 
addressed  to  them  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Davidson,  himself  a 
member  of  the  Old  Testament  company,  and  a  con- 
summate student  and  scholar.  He  pointed  out  that  the 
practice  of  the  Authorized  Version  '  has  greatly  con- 
'  tributed  to  make  the  English  Bible  what  it  is,  and 
'  to  give  it  much  of  the  hold  on  men's  imaginations 
'  which  it  has.  Its  pathos  and  music  and  charming 
'  variety  are  largely  due  to  this  ;  its  beauty,  in  a  word, 
'  is  greatly  owing  to  it.  And  religion  very  willingly 
'  allies  itself  with  what  is  beautiful  and  uses  it  for  its 
'  own  furtherance.  And  any  change  here  will,  without 
'  doubt,   be  a  loss  to   religion.      And  how   great   a  loss 

*  it  will  also  be  to  the  cause  of  literature,  and  the  interests 
'  of  the  English  tongue  1  The  English  Bible  has  been 
'  to  us  what  the  Q'oran  has  been  to  the  dweller  in 
'  the  desert,  the  source  both  of  our  intellectual  and 
'  religious  life,  and  the  instrument  for  expressing  our 
'highest  thought.'  After  pointing  out  that  he  thought 
the  men  of  161 1  had  carried  their  introduction  of  variety 
too  far,  as  when  they  give  four  renderings — count, 
account,  reckon,  and  impute — for  a  Greek  word,  which 
if  not  technical  is  used  in  a  special  sense,  Dr.  Davidson 
adds  :  '  There  is  certainly  now  rising,  and  indeed  run- 
'  ning    very    strongly,    a   current    of    opposition    to    this 

*  method  of  rendering — a  current,  I  fear,  which  will  be 
'  found  to  work  as  much  havoc  as  the  opposite  one. 
'  The  maxim  of  this  new  method  is  to  render  the  same 
'  Greek  or  Hebrew  word  always  by  the  same  English 
'  one.     Under  this  new  principle,  all  variety  will  disap- 

*  pear.'      He   then   refers  to    '  the   well-known   fact   that 


I20  THE   TRANSLATORS'  PREFACE 

'  the  genius  of  one  language  differs  from  that  of  another  ; 

*  that  sameness  and  exactness  characterize  the  Greek, 
'  variety   and   looseness   the  English  ;     that   the   Hebrew 

*  language  is  poor  in  its  vocabulary,  while  the  English 
'  is  copious  ;  that  even  where  a  word  corresponds  in 
'  general  to  another,  the  addition  of  an  epithet  may 
'  destroy    the    correspondence,    and    render    the    use    of 

*  another  term  necessary  ;  that  not  only  meaning,  but 
'rhythm,    flow,    and   sound  make   up    language.' 

The  translators  further  tell  that  in  regard  to  the  old 
ecclesiastical  words  they  had  shunned  the  '  scrupulosity 
'  of  the  Puritans  *  and  the  '  obscurity  of  the  Papists,* 
and  kept  the  important  fact  before  them  that  the  Scrip- 
tures should  speak  so  as  to  be  understood  by  plain 
and  unlearned  folk,  the  wayfaring  man  or  the  man  in 
the  street. 

'  Lastly,  we  have  on  the  one  side  avoided  the  scrupu- 
losity of  the  Puritanes,  who  leave  the  old  Ecclesiastical 
words,    and   betake   them  to    other,    as    when   they   put 
washing    for    baptism,    and    congregation    instead    of 
Church:    as  also   on  the  other  side  we  have   shunned 
the   obscurity   of  the  Papists,   in   their   azymes,   tunike, 
rational,  holocausts,  prepuce,  pasche,  and  a  number  of 
such  like,  whereof  their  late  translation  is  full,  and  that 
of  purpose  to  darken  the  sense,   that  since  they  must 
needs  translate  the  Bible,  yet  by  the  language  thereof 
it  may  be  kept  from  being  understood.     But  we  desire 
that    the    Scripture    may    speak    like    itself,    as    in    the 
language   of  Canaan,  that  it  may  be  understood   even 
of  the  very  vulgar.' 
But  while  the  middle  course  may  usually  be  the  safest 
and  is  often  the  best,  it  can  hardly  be  adopted  as  a  wise 
working  principle  in  connection  with  translation  or  etymo- 
logy.     If   'washing'   means   'washing,'   there   does   not 
seem  to  be  any  good  reason  for  rendering  it  as  '  baptism,' 
especially    in    a    version   which    so    manifestly    seeks    to 
trust  the  people  ;    and  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why,  if  a  word 
means    '  congregation,'   and  not  '  church,'   it   should  not 
be  so  rendered.     But  their  instructions  on  this  point  were 
very   definite,   and  probably  they  worked  out   for  peace 
in  the  end  and  did  no  great  harm. 


A   DIVINE  INHERITANCE  121 

Then,  finally,  the  Preface  deals  with  the  grand  result 
of  their  work,  that  great  inheritance  which  they  did  so 
much  to  hand  on  even  to  our  day,  enriched  as  it  had  never 
been  before.  It  is  a  Divine  inheritance,  for  it  was 
God  who  opened  up  the  fountains  of  living  waters  ; 
but  it  is  also  an  inheritance  from  men,  for  many  others 
have  laboured  in  this  holy  cause.  '  Ye  are  brought 
'  unto  fountains  of  living  water  which  ye  digged  not  ; 
'  do  not  cast  earth  into  them,  with  the  Philistines,  neither 
'prefer  broken  pits  before  them,  with  the  wicked  Jews. 
'  Others  have  laboured,  and  you  may  enter  into  their 
'  labours .  O  receive  not  so  great  things  in  vain  :  O 
'  despise  not  so  great  salvation.'  The  great  desire  of 
these  men  of  God  to  whom  we  owe  so  much  was  that  the 
Scriptures  should  be  loved  and  read,  and  the  appeal 
with  which  they  closed  their  message  to  their  own 
generation  is  still  resounding  down  through  the  ages  : 
the  prayer  of  all  who  wish  well  to  our  land  must  be  that 
it  will  be  heard  anew  in  these  days,  when  their  great 
service  to  humanity  and  the  cause  of  God  is  being  freshly 
brought  before  the  English-speaking  peoples  in  many 
lands . 

*  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
'  living  God  ;    but  a  blessed  thing  it  is,  and  will  bring 

*  us  to  everlasting  blessedness  in  the  end,  when  God 
'  speaketh   unto   us,   to  hearken  ;    when   He   setteth   His 

*  Word  before  us,  to  read  it  ;  when  He  stretcheth  out 
'  His  hand  and  calleth,  to  answer.   Here  am  I,  here  we 

*  are  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God,  The  Lord  work  a  care  and 
'  conscience    in   us   to   know  Him   and   serve    Him,    that 

*  we  may  be  acknowledged  of  Him  at  the  appearing  of 
•our  Lord  JESUS  CHRIST,  to  Whom  with  the  Holy 
'  Ghost  be  all  praise  and  thanksgiving.     Amen.' 


Chapter  V 
THE  GRAND   RESULT 


123 


'  There  is  gold  in  the  rocks  which  fringe  the  Pass  of  the  Splugen,  gold 
even  in  the  stones  which  mend  the  roads,  but  there  is  too  little  of  it  to 
be  worth  extracting.  Not  so  the  Scriptures :  they  are  much  fine  gold  ; 
their  very  dust  is  precious.' — C.  H.  Spurgeon. 


Chapter  V 
THE   GRAND    RESULT 

LIKE  the  Daughter  of  the  King,  the  consecrated 
^  work  of  the  translators  was  clothed  in  raiment  of 
needlework  and  in  cloth  of  wrought  gold,  and  was  like- 
wise all  glorious  within.  Turning  first  to  the  more 
external  and  technical  aspects  of  it,  it  would  seem  that- 
two  distinct  editions  of  the  new  version  were  issued 
in  1611  so  much  alike  that  many  pages  of  the  one 
might  be  exchanged  for  pages  of  the  other,  and  yet 
obviously  set  up  and  printed  independently  of  each  other. 
Some  of  the  experts  call  the  one  the  first  edition  and  some 
the  other  ;  and  it  is  so  difficult  to  tell  which  was  abso- 
lutely first,  that  they  might  both  be  called  first  editions. 
They  have  been  somewhat  whimsically  named  the  '  He 
*  and  She  Bibles,'  from  the  fact  that  while  in  Ruth  3,  15 
the  one  has  '  He  went  into  the  city,'  the  other  has 
'  She  went  into  the  city.'  Even  a  cursory  examina- 
tion of  copies  of  the  two  editions  shows  that  they  differ 
in  hundreds  of  minute  particulars,  and  that  each  has 
errors  of  its  own.  Many  of  these  have  been  corrected 
on  their  own  authority  by  printers  and  editors  since, 
who  often  in  turn  introduced  new  errors  of  their  own. 
For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  throughout  that  the 
Authorized  Version  as  we  have  it  now  differs  in  many 
details  from  the  editions  of  1 6 1 1 . 

Nor  can  it  be  said  that  all  the  corrections  or  errors 
which  have  been  introduced  by  these  unauthorized 
revisers,  usually  without  remark,  have  been  in  connec- 
tion with  trivial  matters  of  punctuation  and  the  like. 
One  of  the  first  editions  actually  read,  '  Then  cometh 
'  Judas,'    for    '  Then    cometh    Jesus,'    in    Matt.    26.    36. 

125 


126  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

The  errors,  indeed,  sometimes  completely  changed  the 
meaning  of  the  passages  involved  ;  as  where  the  word 
'not'  was  added  in  Leviticus  17.  14,  and  omitted  in 
Ezekiel  24.  8.  In  addition  to  the  '  He  and  She  Bibles/ 
another  edition  was  also  issued  in  161 1,  and  some 
authorities  prefer  to  put  it  that  there  were  practically 
three  first  editions.  Each  of  these  has  161 1  on  the  New 
Testament  title-page,  and  they  are  all  fine,  handsome 
volumes  in  bold  black  letter.  Other  editions  followed 
each  other  in  rapid  succession,  very  rapid  indeed  when 
the  limited  extent  of  the  reading  public  as  it  was  then 
is  borne  in  mind.  There  were  other  folio  editions  in 
1613,  1616,  1617,  1629,  1634,  1638,  1640,  and  1642. 
The  first  octavo  and  quarto  editions  were  published  in 
1 61 2,  and  others  followed  in  1613,  161 9,  1631,  and 
1633.  Since  then  there  has  been  a  constant  stream  of 
editions  of  all  sorts,  and  the  flow  is  greater  now  than 
ever  before. 

The  copyright  of  the  Authorized  Version  is  vested 
in  the  Crown,  by  whom  the  right  of  printing  is  granted 
by  charter  or  licence.  The  original  grants,  how- 
ever, contained  no  injunction  as  to  correctness,  and 
have  provided  no  penalties  for  inaccuracy.  The  system, 
indeed,  for  long  seems  to  have  led  to  careless- 
ness and  gross  inaccuracies  ;  and  nothing  is  more 
remarkable  than  the  extraordinary  blunders  which  often 
disfigured  the  pages  of  many  of  the  earlier  editions,  and 
were  often  persisted  in  in  one  reprint  after  another. 
One  edition  is  said  to  have  contained  two  thousand  errors, 
and  another  six  thousand.  '  Corruption  *  appeared  for 
'  conception  *  ;  '  condemnation  '  for  '  redemption  '  ; 
'  flesh  '  for  '  fish  '  ;  '  wilderness  '  for  '  mules  '  ;  '  wake  ' 
for  '  walk  '  ;    '  delighted  '  for  '  defiled  '  ;    '  continue  '  for 

*  confirm  '  ;  and  so  on.  Whole  clauses  were  sometimes 
omitted,  while  negatives  were  wrongfully  put  in  and 
left  out. 

Lord  Mansfield  is  reported  in  Blackstone's  Commen- 
taries to  have  declared  that  '  the  English  translation 
'  the  King  bought  ;  therefore  it  has  been  concluded  to 
'  be  his  property.     His  whole  right  rests  on  the  founda- 

*  tion   of   property    in   the    copy,    by   the    common   law.' 


BIBLE  PRINTING  127 

If  this  be  the  law,  it  was  a  famous  bargain  which  James 
made  for  the  Crown  ;  for  so  far  as  is  known  he  never 
expended  a  farthing  on  the  production  of  the  Authorized 
Version.  It  is  true  that  Robert  Barker  had  a  salary 
as  royal  printer,  but  that  had  no  special  reference  to  the 
printing  of  the  Bible.  Not  only  so,  but  a  patent  was 
granted  to  John  Speed,  in  the  eighth  year  of  King  James, 
by  which  he  was  entitled  to  bind  up  his  genealogical 
charts,  accompanied  with  a  Map  of  Canaan  and  its  Index, 
without  any  option  of  the  purchaser,  in  all  Bibles.  This 
privilege  was  to  hold  good  '  only  for  the  term  of  ten 
'  years  next  ensuing,'  at  an  additional  charge  of  not 
more  than  two  shillings  for  the  large  folio  size.  In 
the  first  folio  edition  in  Roman  letter,  that  of  161 6, 
this  inset  extended  to  thirty -four  pages. 

The  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  enjoy  the 
right  to  print  Bibles,  under  charters  dating  back  to  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  As  distinct  from 
these  charters^  which  are  perpetual,  the  last  patent,  or 
licence,  for  England,  was  granted  by  George  IV. 
to  Andrew  Strachan,  George  Eyre,  and  Andrew  Spottis- 
woode,  for  a  term  of  thirty  years.  This  expired  on 
January  21,  i860,  and  was  then  renewed  during  pleasure, 
Messrs.  Eyre  and  Spottiswoode  being  thus  the  King's 
printers  so  far  as  the  publication  of  the  Authorized 
Version  is  concerned.  In  Scotland  the  last  patent  expired 
in  1839,  and  was  not  renewed.  Since  then  there  has 
been  a  Bible  Board,  with  authority  to  grant  licences 
to  those  who  desire  to  print  editions  of  the  Bible.  The 
Lord  Advocate  for  the  time  being  is  chairman  of  this 
Board,  and  printers  must  enter  into  a  bond  for  £500, 
and  submit  their  sheets  for  approval  before  they  can 
be  issued.  When  the  monopoly  was  abolished  in  Scot- 
land, the  price  of  Bibles  fell  about  one  half,  and  there 
was  a  large  increase  in  the  circulation.  In  Ireland  there 
is  still  a  patentee,  but  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  has  also 
a  concurrent  right. 

Where  the  text  of  Scripture  is  accompanied  by  a 
bona  fide  commentary,  there  is  free  trade  in  Bible  print- 
ing. At  one  time.  Bibles  were  regularly  smuggled  into 
England    from    Scotland,    and    petitions    regarding    this 


128  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

invasion  of  their  rights  from  the  monopolists  to  the 
Privy  Council  are  still  extant.  In  the  case  of  the 
Revised  Version,  the  right  of  publication  belongs  ex- 
clusively to  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 
The  fact  that  no  Bibles  could  be  printed  in  Scotland 
until  seventy  years  ago,  except  by  the  King's  patentee, 
and  that  there  was  thus  only  one  privileged  press  in 
that  country,  whereas  there  were  three  in  England,  acted 
very  injuriously.  Importation  was  forbidden,  and  the 
Bibles  which  were  printed  were  full  of  errors,  often  of 
a  most  ridiculous  kind.  Both  paper  and  printing  were 
sometimes  so  bad  that  the  books  were  nearly  illegible. 
As  recently  as  1824,  an  interdict  was  obtained  by  the 
holders  of  the  patent — fortunately  the  last  to  hold  it — 
from  the  Court  of  Session,  prohibiting  any  copies  of 
the  Scriptures  printed  in  England  from  being  imported 
into  Scotland.  This  decision  was  affirmed  by  the  House 
of  Lords  on  appeal  in  1829  ;  with  the  result  that  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  which  could  send 
Bibles  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  dared  not  send  them  to 
Scotland,   even  to  its   own  auxiliary  Societies. 

The  full  title  of  the  book  which  was  to  do  such  a 
work  in  the  coming  ages  and  to  attain  such  a  place 
in  history  was  *  The  Holy  Bible,  conteyning  the  Old 
'  Testament  and  the  New  :  Newly  Translated  out  of  the 
'  Originall  Tongues  :  and  with  the  former  Translations 
*  diligently  compared  and  reuised,  by  his  Maiesties 
'  speciall  Commandement.  Appointed  to  be  read  in 
'  Churches.  Imprinted  at  London  by  Robert  Barker, 
'  Printer  to  the  Kings  most  Excellent  Maiestie.  Anno 
'  Dom.  161 1.'  In  some  copies  these  words  appear  in 
a  very  handsome  copper-plate  engraving,  representing 
Moses  on  one  side  and  Aaron  on  the  other  ;  the  four 
Evangelists  at  the  corners  ;  and  the  Sacred  Name  above. 
In  other  copies  the  same  words  are  printed  within  a 
woodcut  which  had  frequently  appeared  in  copies  of 
the  Geneva  Bible.  After  the  title-page  came  the  Dedica- 
tion and  Preface.  Then  there  was  a  Kalendar  ;  Almanack 
for  xxxix  years,  &c.  ;  Table  of  Proper  Lessons,  &c.  ; 
and  the  names  and  order  of  all  the  books.  In  many 
copies  John  Speed's  inset  was  also  to  be  found. 


MARGINAL   NOTES  129 

Among  other  matters  of  interest  in  connection  with 
the  first  issues  of  the  Authorized  Version  are  the  marginal 
notes,  the  references,  the  chapter -headings,  and  the  use 
of  italics.  Although  everything  controversial  had  been 
disallowed,  the  marginal  notes  were  both  numerous  and 
important.  Excluding  the  Apocrypha,  there  were  over 
seven  thousand  such  notes  appended  by  the  translators  ; 
and  it  would  have  been  well  had  those  which  have 
since  been  added  without  any  authority,  amounting  to 
368  in  number  according  to  Dr.  Scrivener,  been 
distinguished  from  the  others  by  being  put  into 
brackets.  Some  editions  of  the  Authorized  Version  have 
been  issued  in  our  time  with  the  notes  printed  separately 
at  the  foot  of  the  page,  a  measure  which  prevents  them 
from  being  overlooked  amid  the  references  with  which 
they  are  usually  mixed  up. 

These  marginal  notes  of  the  translators  fall  into  four 
classes.  First  of  all  there  are  those  which  deal  with 
different  readings  in  the  manuscripts,  where  these  were 
deemed  worthy  of  mention.  Then  there  are  those  which 
give  literal  translations  where  the  English  idiom  seemed 
to  necessitate  some  deviation  from  the  text.  Fully  two- 
thirds  of  the  notes  are  of  this  sort,  giving  more 
literal  meanings  of  the  Hebrew  or  Chaldaic  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  of  the  Greek  in  the  New.  As  has  already 
been  noticed,  the  value  of  many  of  these  notes  is  borne 
out  by  the  fact  that  not  a  few  of  them  were  transferred 
from  the  margin  to  the  text  when  the  Revisers  came 
to  deal  with  them.  The  third  class  of  notes  deals  with 
the  explanation  of  Hebrew  words  which  were  retained 
in  the  text,  such  as  '  Mammon  '  and  '  Hallelujah.'  The 
fourth  class  consists  of  notes  with  useful  information 
regarding  distances,  weights,  and  measures. 

More  than  half  of  the  marginal  references  in  the 
Authorized  Version,  as  it  left  the  hands  of  the  trans- 
lators, were  taken  from  manuscript  and  printed  copies 
of  the  Vulgate,  and  thus  represent  the  fruit  of  the 
researches  of  mediaeval  scholars.  As  we  have  seen, 
they  did  not  amount  to  more  than  nine  thousand  in 
number,  and  did  much  to  elucidate  the  text  and  guide 
readers  into  the  meaning  of  what  they  read.      In  later 

K 


130  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

editions  this  number  has  often  been  enormously 
increased,  sometimes  seven-fold  ;  but  the  value  of  the 
references  thus  added  was  not  always  in  proportion  to 
their  bulk.  The  chapter-headings,  like  the  column- 
headings,  were  meant  to  give  a  summary  of  each  chapter, 
and  usually  they  do  so.  Sometimes,  however,  they  go 
further  ;  as  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,  where  they  become 
a  sort  of  commentary,  and  explain  the  book  as  an 
allegory  of  Christ  and  the  Church.  Jews  have  remarked, 
too,  that  in  the  chapter-headings  of  the  Old  Testament, 
when  the  prophets  speak  of  sin,  they  are  always  made 
to  speak  of  the  sins  of  the  Jews  ;  but  when  they  speak 
of  glory  and  holiness,  it  is  the  glory  and  holiness  of 
the  Church.  There  had  been  similar  headings  in  the 
Great  Bible,  the  Geneva  Bible,  and  the  Bishops'  Bible  ; 
but  the  translators  of  the  Authorized  Version  introduced 
an  entirely  new  set.  For  the  heading  to  Jeremiah  lo.  in 
the  Bishops'  Bible,  '  of  evil  Curates,'  we  now  have,  for 
example,    '  He  lamented  the   spoil   of  the  tabernacle   by 

*  foolish  pastors  '  ;  while  the  column -heading  at 
Mark  6.,  in  the  Geneva  version  '  Inconvenience  of 
'  dancing,'  now  appears  as  '  John  the  Baptist  beheaded.' 
With  only  twelve  exceptions  the  headings  introduced 
in  1 6 1 1  have  kept  their  place  in  most  of  the  Bibles 
still  in  use.  The  only  notable  change  among  the  twelve 
is  that  connected  with  the  149th  Psalm.  Here  the 
original  heading  was,  '  That  power  which  He  hath  given 

*  to  the  Church  to  rule  the  consciences  of  men  '  ;  where 
the  last  six  words  have  been  struck  out.  In  some  editions 
these  headings  are  omitted  altogether. 

In  its  employment  of  italics  to  indicate  words  not 
directly  represented  in  the  original,  the  Authorized 
Version  followed  the  example  of  previous  versions,  and 
in  particular  that  of  the  Geneva  version.  Some  heartily 
approve  of  the  practice  as  making  it  clear  throughout 
that  the  book  is  a  translation.  Others  urge  that  they 
are  often  used  without  either  necessity  or  warrant,  as 
the  words  supplied  are  in  reality  implied  in  the  text. 
In  the  Beatitudes,  for  example,  there  is  no  reason  what- 
ever for  putting  the  word  '  are  *  in  italics  throughout, 
since  the  verb  is  implied  in  the  Greek  idiom  although 


HUXLEY'S   TESTIMONY  131 

it  is  not  actually  expressed  in  the  Greek  text.  There  is 
even  the  danger  in  modern  times  that  the  italics  may 
be  taken  by  some  readers  to  indicate  the  need  for  greater 
emphasis,  and,  on  the  whole,  their  disappearance  would 
be  no  great  loss.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  practice  of 
the  translators  was  by  no  means  uniform,  and  their 
work  in  this  respect  is  not  so  careful  as  in  some  other 
respects.  There  are,  indeed,  indications  of  haste  ;  and 
that  there  was  some  hurry  in  the  end  seems  to  be  borne 
out  further  by  the  fact  that  there  are  no  paragraph 
marks  after  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles. 

Turning  now  from  the  outer  and  external  aspects  of 
the  grand  result  to  the  inner,  we  find  that  the  outcome 
of  the  labours  of  the  translators  was  a  volume  which 
ever  since  it  first  appeared  has  gone  forth  conquering 
and  to  conquer,  and  which  under  God  and  through  the 
testimony  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  has  been  not  merely  the 
source  of  Britain's  greatness,  but  a  source  of  blessing 
and  consolation,  of  inspiration  and  revival.  It  has  been 
a  well  of  water  for  the  thirsty  ;  a  river  of  life  which 
has  turned  many  a  wilderness  into  a  fruitful  field  ;  a 
key  which  has  unlocked  many  a  dungeon  door  and  set 
the  captives  of  ignorance  and  error,  of  superstition  and 
sin,  free  for  ever.  It  has  opened  blind  eyes,  and  brought 
out  the  prisoners  from  the  prison,  and  them  that  sat 
in  darkness  out  of  the  prison-house.  The  testimonies 
which  have  been  borne  to  its  merits  and  the  work  it 
has  done  come  from  every  quarter,  and  it  is  but  right 
that,  at  this  time  of  Tercentenary  celebration,  some  of 
the  more  notable  of  these  should  be  brought  together. 

The  late  Professor  Huxley,  agnostic  though  he  was, 
speaking  of  our  English  Bible  as  a  schoolbook,  said  : 
'  Consider    the     great     historical     fact     that     for     three 

*  centuries  this  book  has  been  woven  into  the  life  of 
'  that  which  is  best  and  noblest  in  English  history  ; 
'  that  it  has  become  the  national  epic  of  Britain,  and 
'  is  as  familiar  to  noble  and  simple,  from  John  O'Groat's 

*  to  Land's  End,  as  Dante  and  Tasso  once  were  to  the 
'  Italians  :  that  it  is  written  in  the  noblest  and  purest 
'  English,    and   abounds   in    exquisite   beauties    of   mere 


132  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

literary  form  :  and,  finally,  that  it  forbids  the  veriest 
hind  who  never  left  his  village  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
existence  of  other  countries  and  other  civilizations,  and 
of  a  great  past  stretching  back  to  the  furthest  limits 
of  the  oldest  nations  in  the  world.  By  the  study  of 
what  other  book  could  children  be  so  much  humanized 
and  made  to  feel  that  each  figure  in  that  vast  historical 
procession  fills,  like  themselves,  but  a  momentary 
space  in  the  interval  between  two  eternities  ;  and  earns 
the  blessings  or  the  curses  of  all  time,  according  to  its 
efforts  to  do  good  and  hate  evil,  even  as  they  also 
are  earning  their  payment  for  their  work  ?  ' 

John  Ruskin,  in  his  Prceterita,  says  :  '  My  mother 
forced  me,  by  steady  daily  toil,  to  learn  long  chapters 
of  the  Bible  by  heart  ;  .  .  .  and  to  that  discipline — 
patient,  accurate,  and  resolute — I  owe,  not  only 
a  knowledge  of  the  book,  which  I  find  occasionally 
serviceable,  but  much  of  my  general  power  of  taking 
pains,  and  the  best  part  of  my  taste  in  Literature.' 
I  have  just  opened  my  oldest  (in  use)  Bible.  .  .  .  My 
mother's  list  of  chapters,  with  which,  thus  learned, 
she  established  my  soul  in  life,  has  just  fallen  out  of 
it.  .  .  .  And  truly  .  .  .  this  maternal  installation  of 
my  mind  in  that  property  of  chapters,  I  count,  very 
confidently,  the  most  precious,  and  on  the  whole  the 
one  essential  part  of  all  my  education.' 

Thomas     Carlyle's     testimony     is     also     memorable  : 
In     the     poorest     cottage     are     books — is     one     Book, 
wherein   for   several   thousands    of   years    the   spirit   of 
man  has  found  light   and  nourishment,   and  an  inter- 
preting   response    to    whatever    is    Deepest    in    him  ; 
wherein   still   to   this   day,   for   the   eye   that   will   look 
well,    the    Mystery    of    Existence    reflects    itself,    if    not 
resolved,    yet    revealed,    and    prophetically    emblemed  ; 
if  not  to  the  satisfying   of  the   outward   sense,   yet   to 
the    opening    of    the    inward    sense,    which    is    the    far 
grander  result.' 
The   late   Dean   Alford,    so    distinguished    as   a   Bible 
student,   said  :     '  We   in   this   land  possess   a  version  of 
'  Holy    Scripture   which   may    challenge   comparison   for 
'  faithfulness,   for   simplicity,  and   for   majesty   with   any 


.  DEAN  ALFORUS  COMMENDATION  133 

'  that  the  world  has  ever  seen ....  And  when  we 
'  intensify  all  these  claims  to  our  affection  by  the  fact 
'  that  it  has  been  for  centuries,  and  is  now,  the  vehicle 
'  to  this  great  English  race  of  all  that  is  pure,  and 
'  holy,  and  lovely,  and  of  good  report  ,  .  .  the  first 
'  lesson  of  infancy,  the  guide  of  mature  life,  the  com- 
'  forter  of  sickness  and  death,  ...  we  can  hardly  be 
'  surprised  that  many  and  some  of  the  best  among  us 
'  refuse    to    see    its    faults,    and   are    unable    to    contem- 

*  plate    with    any    content    the    prospect    of    their    being 

*  corrected.' 

'  Our  version,'  said  Bishop  Westcott,  another  great 
Christian  scholar,  who  could  speak  with  authority,  *  is 
'the  work  of  a  Church  and  not  of  a  man.  Or  rather, 
'it  is  a  growth  and  not  a  work .  Countless  external 
'  influences,  independent  of  the  actual  translators,  con- 
'  tributed    to    mould    it  ;     and    when    it    was    fashioned, 

*  the    Christian    instinct    of    the   nation,    touched,    as    we 

*  believe,  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  decided  on  its  authority.' 

Nor  must  the  touching  tribute  of  Faber,  who  had 
exchanged  its  beauties  for  the  crudities  of  the  "Romish 
version,  be  left  out,  often  as  it  has  been  quoted  before. 
'  Who  will  say,'  he  asked,   '  that  the  uncommon  beauty 

*  and  marvellous  English  of  the  Protestant  Bible  is  not 

*  one  of  the  great  strongholds  of  heresy  in  this  country  ? 
'  It  lives  on  the  ear  like  a  music  that  can  never  be 
'  forgotten  ;  like  the  sound  of  church  bells,  which  the 
'convert  scarcely  knows  how  he  can  forgo.      Its  felici- 

*  ties  seem  often  to  be  almost  things  rather  than  words . 

*  It  is  part  of  the  national  mind,  and  the  anchor  of  the 
'  national  seriousness.  Nay,  it  is  worshipped  with  a 
'  positive  idolatry,  in  extenuation  of  whose  fanaticism 
'  its  intrinsic  beauty  pleads  availingly  with  the  scholar. 
'  The  memory  of  the  dead  passes  into  it.     The  potent 

*  traditions   of   childhood   are   stereotyped  in   its   verses . 

*  It  is  the  representative  of  a  man's  best  moments  ;  all 
'  that   there   has    been    about    him    of    soft,    and    gentle, 

*  and  pure,  and  penitent,   and   good,   speaks  to  him  for 

*  ever  out  of  his  English  Bible.  It  is  his  sacred  thing, 
'  which  doubt  never  dimmed  and  controversy  never 
'  soiled  ;    and  in  the  length  of  the  land  there  is  not  a 


134  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

'  Protestant  with  one  spark  of  religiousness  about  him 
'  whose  spiritual  biography  is  hot  in  his  Saxon  Bible.' 

With  this  may  be  conjoined  the  testimony  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  scholar,  Geddes,  in  his  Prospectus  for  a  new 
Translation.  Speaking  of  the  Authorized  Version,  he 
says  :  '  In  point  of  perspicacity  and  noble  simplicity, 
'  propriety  of  idiom,  and  purity  of  style,  no  English 
'  version  has  as  yet  surpassed  it.' 

*  The  Authorized  Version,'  said  Dr.  Eadie,  himself 
one  of  the  Revisers,  'ha.  in  it  the  traces  of  its  origin, 
'  and  its  genealogy  may  be  reckoned.  For  while  it 
'  has  the  fulness  of  the  Bishops'  Bible  without  its  frequent 
'  literalisms    or    its    repeated    supplements,    it    has    the 

*  graceful    vigour    of   the    Genevan,    the    quiet    grandeur 

*  of    the    Great    Bible,    the    clearness    of    Tyndale,    the 

*  harmonies  of  Coverdale,  and  the  stately  theological 
'  vocabulary    of    the    Rheims.      It    has    thus    a    complex 

*  unity    in    its    structure    ...  all    the    earlier    versions 

*  ranging  over  eighty  years  having  bequeathed  to  it  con- 
'  tributions   the   individuality   of   which   has   not   been   in 

*  all  cases  toned  down.' 

Truly  it  is  a  grand  result,  the  fruit  of  many  labours 
and  much  devotion  and  consecrated  learning,  the  harvest 
of  prayerful  sowing  amid  persecution  and  hardship  and 
toil,  and  of  readiness  to  reap  wisely  and  lovingly  from 
every  field.  Its  language  is  thoroughly  English  ;  and 
yet  it  is  separated  by  its  archaic  form  from  the  colloquial 
English  of  every  day  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  the 
literary  English  of  most  other  books  on  the  other.  It 
has  become  the  language  of  religion  ;  a  book  for  the 
people,  and  not  for  an  inner  circle  of  experts  ;  for 
ordinary  men  and  women,  and  not  for  scholars  and 
theologians  alone.  Of  pure  English  words  there  are 
97  per  cent,  in  the  Authorized  Version,  as  against  92 
per  cent,  in  The  Cry  of  the  Children;  89  per  cent, 
in  In  Memorlam ;  88  per  cent,  in  Chaucer's  Pro- 
logue; 86  per  cent,  in  The  Faerie  Queen;  85  per 
cent,  in  Shakespeare,  and  81  per  cent,  in  Paradise 
Lost.  Nor  is  its  archaic  language  that  of  Eliza- 
bethan or  Jacobean  times,  as  has  been  said. 
Its    genealogy    is    to    be    traced    up    in    the    direct    line 


A   GREAT  DAY  FOR  ENGLAND  135 

through  every  stage  of  translation  and  revision  to  the 
Latin  Vulgate  ;  and  the  common  English  ancestor  of 
every  such  revision  is  the  Wiclif  Bible  of  the  fourteenth 
century. 

As  Dr.  Moulton  has  shown,  the  earlier  Wiclif  render- 
ings passed  into  general  currency  and  became  almost 
proverbial  phrases.  Hence  it  is  also  that  while  an 
examination  of  the  two  versions  shows  at  once  a  very 
considerable  identity  of  language  and  expression  between 
Tyndale  and  Purvey 's  Wiclif,  Tyndale  could  neverthe- 
less  say,    '  that   he   had   no   man   to   counterfeit,   neither 

*  was  holpen  with  English   of  any  that  had  interpreted 

*  the  same  or  such  like  things  in  the  Scripture  before- 

*  hand.*  In  many  cases  the  Vulgate  supplies  the  con- 
necting link  ;  and  gradually  the  English  vocabulary  in 
which  the  Authorized  Version  is  written  grew  up  to 
be  used  in  that  version  in  such  a  fashion  that  nothing 
better  for  the  purpose  can  ever  be  hoped  for.  The 
translators  kept  sufficiently  aloof  from  the  peculiarities 
of  their  age  for  their  work  to  live  on  untouched  by 
changing  literary  fashions,  and  to  sustain  a  long  protest 
against  ephemeral  crudities. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  England  and  the  cause  of 
Christ  and  freedom  in  every  land  when  at  length  the 
Authorized  Version  appeared  ;  and  although  no  one  could 
possibly  have  any  conception  of  the  career  which  lay 
before  it,  there  was  some  sense  of  the  momentousness 
of   the   event.      '  And    now   after    long    expectation   and 

*  great  desire,'  said  Fuller,  *  came  forth  the  new 
'  translation  of  the  Bible    (most  beautifully  printed),  by 

*  a   select   and   competent   number   of   divines   appointed 

*  for    that   purpose  ;    .    .    .   who,    neither    coveting   praise 

*  for  expedition  nor  fearing  reproach  for  slackness,    .    .    . 

*  had   expended   almost   three   years   in   the    work.    .    .    . 

*  So  that  their  industry,  skilfulness,  piety,  and  discretion, 
'  have  therein  bound  the  Church  unto  them  in  a  debt 
'  of  special  remembrance  and  thankfulness.  These,  with 
'  Jacob,  "  rolled  away  the  stone  from  the  mouth  of  the 
'  "  well  "  of  life  ;  so  that  even  Rachels,  weak  women, 
'  may  freely  come,  both  to  drink  themselves,  and  water 
'  the  flocks  of  their  families  at  the  same .' 


136  THE   GRAND  RESULT 

No  one,  of  course,  has  ever  imagined  that  even  this 
great  masterpiece  of  translation  is  without  fauh.  It 
was  only  the  work  of  men,  although  it  dealt  with  the 
work  of  God  ;  and  all  we  can  claim  for  them  is  that 
they  did  their  best.  They  had  to  work  with  defective 
texts  ;  they  lived  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  not 
in  the  twentieth  ;  and  they  had  to  do  their  work  in 
the  pre-critical  era,  and  not  in  an  era  in  which  criticism 
has  been  so  much  overdone.  Exception  has  been  taken 
by  scholars  to  the  Authorized  Version  rendering  of  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  tenses .  It  is  declared  that  '  it 
'  has  preserved  no  pervading  distinction  between  the 
'  Aorist  and  the  Perfect  in  Greek  ;  and  its  renderings 
'  of  the  Hebrew  Imperfect  are  full  of  blunders.'  The 
failure  of  the  translators  to  bring  out  the  full  force 
of  the  Aorist,  as  referring  to  a  definite  occurrence  in 
the  past,  sometimes  tends  to  obscure  the  teaching  of 
Scripture  and  to  foster  erroneous  views  of  its  meaning. 
It  may  be,  however,  that  our  use  of  the  English  tenses 
has  changed  considerably  since  161 1.  Then  as  regards 
the  use  of  the  Article,  on  which  so  much  often  depends, 
the  translators  do  not  appear  to  have  acted  on  any 
fixed  principle  as  to  when  to  express  it  and  when  to 
leave  it  out.  Professor  Davidson,  sympathetic  critic  as 
he  was,  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  they  were  manifestly 
ignorant  of  its  force.  These,  however,  are  but  the  spots 
on  the  sun  ;  and  we  should  never  cease  to  give  thanks 
for  all  the  wonders  of  the  grand  result,  and  for  all 
it  has  achieved  and  is  still  achieving,  in  the  service  of 
God  and  man. 


Chapter   VI 

IN   WHAT   SENSE  WAS  THE  AUTHORIZED  VERSION 
AUTHORIZED  ? 


137 


'Of  all  books  in  the  world,  the  Bible  is  one  which  will  not 'yield  up 
its  riches  and  its  sweetness  except  to  the  diligent  and  faithful  and  earnest 
student.  All  great  works  demand  long  and  patient  and  persevering  study. 
The  lesser  mind  cannot  expect  to  grasp  at  once  the  purpose  of  the  greater. 
Sir  J.  Reynolds  ,tells  us  of  the  profound  disappointment  with  which  he 
first  beheld  Raphael's  great  picture  of  the  Transfiguration  at  the  Vatican. 
It  was  only  as  he  came  again  and  again,  only  as  he  lingered  over  it  and 
dwelt  upon  it  till  the  picture  took  possession  of  him,  that  he  at  last  perceived 
its  grandeur  and  its  harmony.' — Perowne. 


Chapter  VI 

IN      WHAT      SENSE      WAS.     THE      AUTHORIZED 
VERSION    AUTHORIZED? 

MATTHEW'S  Bible  of  1537  was  licensed  by  the 
King,  and  the  Great  Bible  was  specially  sanctioned 
by  proclamation.  The  Bishops'  Bible  was  duly  approved 
by  Convocation  ;  and,  as  the  legal  successor  of  the 
Great  Bible,  inherited  its  royal  authority.  The  version 
of  161 1,  however,  although  it  was  begun  and  carried 
through  with  the  hearty  benediction  of  King  James, 
seems  never  to  have  obtained  any  other  authorization 
than  that  of  public  appreciation  ;  that  of  the  favour  of 
scholars  and  people  alike.  The  King's  connection  with 
the  inauguration  of  the  movement  in  1604  ;  the  Dedica- 
tion which  it  has  always  borne  on  the  forefront  ;  the 
statement  on  the  title-page  that  it  is  appointed  to  be 
read  in  churches  ;  even  the  fact  that  it  could  be  printed 
only  by  permission  of  the  Crown — all  helped  to  confirm 
the  belief  of  many  that  in  some  literal  and  distinctive 
fashion  it  was  made  the  Authorized  Version.  But  diffi- 
cult as  it  is  to  prove  a  negative,  and  we  know  singularly 
little  about  various  important  aspects  of  this  translation, 
it  is  practically  certain  that  no  such  authorization  was 
ever    given . 

The  plan  sketched  by  the  King  at  first  was  that  the 
new  version  should  be  undertaken  by  the  '  best  learned 
'  in  both  Universities  ;  after  them  to  be  reviewed  by 
'  the  bishops  and  the  chief  learned  of  the  Church  ;  from 
'  them  to  be  presented  to  the  Privy  Council  ;  and  lastly 
'  to  be  ratified  by  his  royal  authority  ;    and  so  this  whole 


I40    IN   WHAT  SENSE    WAS  IT  AUTHORIZED! 

*  Church  to  be  bound  unto  it  and  none  other.'  But, 
as  Bishop  Westcott  has  epigrammatically  put  it,  '  no 
'  evidence  has  yet  been  produced  to  show  that  the  version 

*  was  ever  publicly  sanctioned  by  Convocation,  or  by 
'  Parliament,  or  by  the  Privy  Council,  or  by  the  King.* 
Dr.  Eadie,  however,  argues  that  '  the  new  edition  had 
'  virtual   authority   by   the    order   of    succession,    by   the 

*  law  of  entail  and  lineage  ;  for  it  was  made  as  a 
'  national  book,  by  royal  order,  on  purpose  to  displace 
'  the    Bishops'    Bible,    and    it    had    succeeded   the    Great 

*  Bible  which  had  been  formally  authorized  by  the 
'  Crown.' 

Mr.  Dore,  in  his  Old  Bibles,  argues  in  the  same  way  ; 
that  'the  Bible  of  1611,  being  a  revision  of  the  1602 
'  edition  of  Parker's  Bible,  may  justly  be  deemed  to 
'  possess  all  the  rights  and  privileges  belonging  to  the 
'version  of  which  it  was  a  revision.'  But  while  no 
one  disputes  the  contention  that  the  new  edition  had 
'  virtual  authority,'  and  might  be  looked  on  as  inheriting 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  its  nominal  predecessor, 
the  fact  remains  that  it  made  its  way  and  attained 
its  supremacy  without  public  sanction  or  authorization 
of  any  kind,  so  far  as  the  records  go.  Its  actual  authority 
has  not  been  derived  from  any  ecclesiastical  or  legisla- 
tive action,  but  is  due  to  its  intrinsic  merits  ;  and  in 
all  the  circumstances  it  is  well  that  it  should  have  been 
so .  The  only  authorization  of  which  there  is  any  record, 
or  which  has  ever  been  required,  has  been  that  which 
is  the  highest  and  best  of  all — the  Divine  right  to  rule, 
which  can  never  be  permanently  called  in  question  ; 
speaking  with  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes  ;  the 
survival  of  the  fittest  ;  the  acknowledgment  on  all  hands 
of  its  manifest  superiority.  Securus  jiidicat  orbis 
terrarum.  '  The  Christian  instinct  of  the  nation,  touched, 
'  as  we  believe,  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  decided  on  its 
'  authority.' 

The  words  '  appointed  to  be  read  in  churches,'  which' 
appear  on  the  title-pages  of  all  modern  editions,  are 
not  always  found  in  the  earlier  issues,  especially  in 
the  smaller  editions  not  intended  for  use  in  church. 
They  are  not  even  found  on  the  title-page  of  the  New 


'APPOINTED    TO  BE  READ'  141 

Testament  of  the  '  He  *  edition  of  161 1,  which  most  ex- 
perts consider  to  have  been  the  first  issue  of  all.  They 
probably  refer  to  the  lessons  to  be  read  in  churches, 
and  in  the  preliminary  pages  there  is  a  table  showing 
first  *  how  the  Psalter  is  appointed  to  be  read/  and  then 
'  the  order  how  the  rest  of  Scripture  is  appointed  to 
'be  read.'  To  provide  for  the  proper  selection  of  the 
lessons  a  Kalendar  was  given  in  all  the  early  folio 
editions.  As  for  the  suggestion  that  these  words  of 
themselves  bear,  that  the  use  of  the  new  version  was 
enjoined  by  royal  authority  as  soon  as  it  appeared,  it 
must  be  remembered  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was 
not  so  used  even  in  the  churches  where  men  were  most 
amenable  to  the  royal  authority  for  a  considerable  time 
after  its  publication.  A  prelate  as  loyal  as  Bishop 
Andrewes  preached  before  the  King  from  texts  taken 
from  the  Bishops'  Bible,  as  late  as  ten  years  after  the 
publication  of  the  Authorized  Version.  Altogether  apart 
from  the  reluctance  of  many  to  discard  the  older  versions 
all  at  once,  the  Bishops'  Bible  continued  to  be  used  in 
public  worship  in  many  of  the  churches  as  long  as  the 
old  copies  lasted.  Nor  can  anything  be  deduced  from 
the  fact  of  a  royal  monopoly  in  the  printing  of  the  new 
version.  The  claim  of  the  Crown  to  regulate  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Authorized  Version  need  not  involve  any 
claim  to  property  rights  therein.  Lord  Mansfield  apart  ; 
but  only  that  care  ought  to  be  taken  that  none  but 
competent  hands  should  deal  with  a  volume  on  the  purity 
of  which  so  much  depends. 

That  the  only  authority  of  the  Authorized  Version  was 
thus  that  of  its  own  intrinsic  merits  and  its  superiority 
over  its  rivals,  and  was  not  due  to  Court  influence, 
royal  preference,  or  ecclesiastical  decree,  ought  to  be 
a  matter  for  heartiest  satisfaction.  It  was  well  that 
the  Scriptures  in  their  new  garb  should  stand  on  their 
merits,  and  that  when  God  was  speaking  in  fresh  tones 
to  the  people,  no  alien  voice  should  be  heard.  Its 
triumph  might  neither  have  been  so  rapid  nor  so  com- 
plete had  there  been  any  attempt  to  force  it  on  the 
nation  by  some  royal  or  ecclesiastical  decree.  And 
especially  in  the  years  which  succeeded  its  first  appear- 


142     IN   WHAT  SENSE    WAS  IT  AUTHORIZED  1 

ance  ;  years  when  the  weakness  of  James,  the  folly  of 
his  son  Charles,  and  the  tyrannies  and  immoralities  of 
his  grandsons  Charles  and  James,  were  desolating  the 
land  and  outraging  the  Church  ;  it  was  well  that  the 
authority  of  the  English  Bible  should  in  no  way  depend 
on  the  influence  of  a  justly  discredited  Court,  or  on  a 
royal  power  which  many  of  the  best  in  the  land  had 
deliberately  disowned  ;  or  be  associated  with  a  Crown  to 
which  no  one  could  look  up  with  respect. 

In  their  Preface  the  translators  refer  with  disapproba- 
tion to  those  who  spoke  as  if  the  recognition  and  en- 
dowment of  the  Church  in  the  days  of  Constantine  had 
been  a  dubious  blessing  ;  but  not  a  few  would  agree 
rather  with  those  to  whom  they  refer  as  saying,  with 
reference  to  the  patronage  of  worldly  and  ambitious  men, 
'  now  is  poison  poured  down  into  the  Church.'  So  soon 
as  the  sunshine  of  unwonted  public  favour  fell  on  the 
long  despised  followers  of  Christ,  many  began  to  crowd 
into  their  ranks  who  were  converted  by  Imperial  Edict 
and  not  by  the  power  of  Divine  truth,  and  neither  the 
Church  nor  the  Bible  requires  more  than  a  fair  field 
and  no  favour.  That  was  what  the  Authorized  Version 
received,  and  nothing  more,  and  its  victory  was  complete. 


Chapter  VII 
THE   APOCRYPHA 


'  Our  learned  Selden,  before  he  died,  sent  for  the  Most  Reverend  Arch- 
bishop Ussher  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Langbaine,  and  discoursed  to  them  to 
this  purpose  :  that  he  had  surveyed  most  part  of  the  learning  that  was 
among  the  sons  of  men  ;  that  he  had  his  study  full  of  books  and  papers 
of  most  subjects  in  the  world  :  yet  at  that  time  he  could  not  recollect  any 
passage  out  of  infinite  books  and  manuscripts  he  was  master  of,  wherein 
he  could  rest  his  soul,  save  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.' — Lord  Berkeley. 


Chapter  VII 
THE    APOCRYPHA 

TO  many  readers  of  the  English  Bible  the  Apocrypha 
is  almost  as  little  known  as  the  Koran,  and  their 
surprise  is  great  when  they  come  across  the  unfamiliar 
books  bound  up  with  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  Yet  in  1604  a  company  was  appointed  to 
translate  these  books,  and  in  161 1  they  were  issued 
along  with  the  other  books,  very  much  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Not  that  the  translators  of  the  Authorized 
Version  thought  of  the  Apocrypha  as  having  the  same 
authority  or  as  being  of  the  same  value  as  the  other 
books.  At  least  from  the  days  of  Jerome  it  had  been 
recognized  that  it  stood  on  a  very  different  level  from 
these  other  books  ;  and  especially  among  those  with  the 
tendencies  which  were  to  harden  into  the  Puritan  con- 
victions of  the  next  generation,  the  feeling  was  rapidly 
gaining  ground  that  they  ought  not  to  appear  in  the 
same  volume  as  the  canonical  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments . 

Tyndale  had  translated  some  parts  of  the  Apocryphal 
books  for  Church  Lessons,  but  Coverdale's  version  of 
these  books  was  the  first  printed  in  English,  and  he  not 
only  separated  them  from  the  rest  of  the  books,  but  wrote 
an  interesting  preface  to  them.  'These  books  and 
'  treatises,  which  among  the  fathers  of  old  are  not 
'  reckoned  to  be  of  like  authority  with  the  other  books 
'  of  the  Bible,  neither  are  they  found  in  the  Canon  of 
'the  Hebrews.'  'These  books  are  not  judged  among 
'  the  doctors  to  be  of  like  reputation  with  the  other 
'  Scripture.'     '  And  the  chief  cause  thereof  is  this  :    there 

L  145 


146  THE   APOCRYPHA 

*  be   many   places   in  them,   that   seem   to  be   repugnant 

*  unto  the  open  and  manifest  truth  in  the  other  books  of 
'  the  Bible .  Nevertheless,  I  have  not  gathered  them 
'  together  to  the  intent  that  I  would  have  them  despised, 
'  or    little    set    by,    or   that    I    should   think    them    false, 

*  for  I  am  not  able  to  prove  it .' 

The  only  change  made  in  the  Geneva  Bible,  which  is 
often  said  not  to  contain  the  Apocrypha,  is  that  the 
Prayer  of  Manasses  is  put  after  Second  Chronicles.  In 
Matthew's  Bible,  the  Apocrypha  appeared  with  something 
of  the  nature  of  a  protest.  The  third  book  of  Maccabees 
first  appeared  as  a  portion  of  the  English  Bible  in 
Taverner's  version  of  1549.  In  the  year  161 5,  proof 
of  the  growing  dislike  for  the  Apocrypha  is  afforded 
in  Archbishop  Abbot's  action  in  forbidding  its  being 
left  out  of  the  sacred  volume,  on  pain  of  a  year's  im- 
prisonment. Yet  in  1629,  an  edition  of  the  Authorized 
Version  actually  appeared  without  the  Apocrypha,  the 
letters  APO  still  remaining  below  the  tail -piece  at  the 
end  of  Malachi.  And  this  seems  to  have  been  but  a 
beginning,  for  we  find  Selden  entering  his  protest  :  '  The 

*  Apocrypha    is    bound    with   the    Bible    of    all    churches 

*  that  have  been  hitherto .  Why  should  we  leave  it 
'  out  ?  ' 

In  the  year  1643,  the  Westminster  Assembly  of 
Divines  excluded  the  Apocrypha,  equally  with  tradition, 
by  their  declaration  in  the  Shorter  Catechism  that  '  The 
'  Word  of  God  which  is  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 

*  Old  and  New  Testaments  is  the  only  rule  to  direct  us 
'how  we  may  glorify  and  enjoy  Him.'  In  that  same 
year,  too,  the  learned  Dr.  Lightfoot,  preaching  before 
the  House  of  Commons  in  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster, 
spoke  of  the  *  wretched  Apocrypha  '  as  '  a  patchery  of 
'  human  inventions  '  which  divorced  the  end  of  the  law 
'from  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel.*  In  the  last  folio 
edition  of  the  Geneva  Bible,  which  was  issued  in  the 
following  year,  1644,  the  place  usually  assigned  to  the 
Apocrypha  was  occupied  by  an  address  from  the  Synod 
of  Dort,  ordering  it  to  be  omitted,  and  speaking  of  it 
in  far  less  respectful  terms  than  Coverdale  had  used.  In 
the  first  Bible,  which  was  issued  from  the  Oxford  Press 


BIBLES  CONTAINING  IT  147 

in  the  year  1675,  the  Apocryphal  books  were  printed 
in  smaller  type  than  the  others. 

John  Bunyan  has  recorded  how  profoundly  he  was 
comforted  by  the  verse,  '  Look  at  the  generations  of 
'  old,  and  see  :  did  ever  any  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  was 
'  confounded?  '  (Ecclesiasticus  10,  2),  and  how  he  was  at 
first  a  little  damped  to  find  that  it  only  occurred  in  an 
uncanonical  book,  but  that  he  was  comforted  by  regarding 
it  as  an  epitome  of  many  Scriptural  promises,  so  that 
*  the  word  doth  still  oft-times  shine  before  my  face.' 
Eighty-five  years  ago,  too,  all  Scotland  was  convulsed 
over  the  question  whether  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  was  warranted  in  publishing  Bibles  containing 
the  Apocrypha,  in  order  to  obtain  an  entrance  for  the 
Word  of  God  into  communities  where  it  was  most  desir- 
able to  carry  it,  but  where  it  would  be  vain  to  attempt 
to  introduce  it  unless  the  Apocrypha  were  included. 
These  were  the  Greek  Church  ;  the  Roman  Catholic  Com- 
munities, where  the  Apocrypha  was  revered  and  had  the 
sanction  of  the  Council  of  Trent  ;  the  Lutheran  Com- 
munities, where  the  decree  of  Trent  was  not  allowed,  but 
where  the  book  was  valued  and  allowed  a  certain  degree 
of  inspiration  and  authority  ;  and  certain  Reformed 
Churches  on  the  Continent,  where  it  was  regarded,  as  it 
is  in  the  Church  of  England,  as  useful  for  edification. 
The  controversy  waxed  very  fierce,  and  the  end  of  it  was 
that  since  that  time  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
has  issued  no  copies  of  the  Bible  containing  the 
Apocryphal  books.  Indeed,  with  rare  exceptions  there 
have  been  no  ordinary  editions  of  the  Bible  issued  any- 
where since  that  period  in  which  the  Apocrypha  is 
included  ;  a  fact  which  goes  far  to  explain  its  neglect 
and  the  ignorance  which  prevails  regarding  it. 

The  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  in 
advertising  their  list  of  Bibles  and  calling  attention  to 
the  fact  that  they  all  contain  the  Apocrypha,  say  that 
'  it  is  not  generally  known  that  the  only  Bible  which 
'  has  legal  and  official  warrant,  besides  ecclesiastical 
'  warrant,  contains  the  Apocrypha.'  They  quote  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  as  saying  that  he  has  no 
hesitation  in  declaring  that  it  is  desirable  that  systematic 


148  THE  APOCRYPHA 

efifort  should  be  made  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  the 
people  generally  about  the  Apocrypha,  and  to  encour- 
age its  more  careful  study  ;  and  the  late  Archbishop 
of  York  as  declaring  that  there  is  no  doubt  that  for 
various  causes  the  Apocrypha  does  not  hold  the  place 
to  which  it  is  entitled  in  Biblical  Literature,  and  that 
the  attention  of  Christians  generally  should  be  turned 
towards  these  singularly  interesting  and  often  very  beauti- 
ful books.  As  has  just  been  shown,  there  is  no  Bible 
now  on  sale,  whether  with  the  Apocrypha  or  without, 
which  has  any  legal  warrant  ;  but  the  question  of  the 
place  and  value  of  the  Apocrypha  is  of  great  interest 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  Bible,  while  its 
historical   importance  can  hardly  be   exaggerated. 

The  Apocrypha  comes  to  us,  said  Professor  A.  B. 
Davidson,  '  as  the  only  utterances  out  of  that  dark  night 
'  which    came    down    upon   the   Jewish    Church,    when    it 

*  slept    for    four    hundred    years,    and    awoke    and   arose, 

*  and  found  itself  Christian .     Even  the  dreams   of  such 

*  a  time,  the  troubled  moanings  of  such  a  weary  trance, 
'  we  may  turn  aside  to  look  upon  with  a  fearful  interest.' 
These  long  years  were  a  period  of  preparation  for  the 
coming  Christ,  a  time  of  deep  inward  development,  and 
therefore  it  is  that  in  spite  of  its  many  inconsistencies 
and  even  absurdities,  the  Apocrypha  helps  in  some 
measure  to  fill  up  this  interval  between  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New.  '  The  rise  of  the  several  ecclesias- 
'  tical  parties  there  are  seen  in  our  Lord's  time  straight 

*  for  the  mastery  ;    the  phenomena  of  Essenism,   Phari- 

*  seeism,  and  Sadduceeism  ;  the  growing  importance  of 
'  the  high-priestly  office  in  a  worldly  sense  ;   the  develop- 

*  ment  of  the  doctrine  of  angels  and  of  a  future  life — 
'  these  and  other  spiritual  forces  that  are  seen  at  work 
'  in  the  days  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles  can  be  studied 

*  in  the  Apocrypha  by  the  student  of  the  Gospels  as 
'  nowhere   else.' 

The  very  difference  between  the  canonical  and  non- 
canonical  books  alike  in  tone  and  substance  gives  the 
latter  a  new  significance  and  value,  and  nowhere  does 
the  simplicity  or  authority  of  Scripture  shine  out  more 
grandly  than  in  contrast  to  the  artificiality  even  of  the 


UNCANONICAL    WRITINGS  149 

best  of  the  Apocryphal  writings.  The  chasrri  which 
separates  the  two  is  very  deep.  In  every  respect,  moral, 
doctrinal,  and  literary,  the  Apocryphal  books  are  on  a 
lower  level  than  those  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

*  The  harp  of  Judah  has  ceased  to  vibrate  in  them,  and 
'  the  humblest  Psalm  of  David  is  worth  all  such  poetry 
'as  they  contain.  The  voice  of  prophecy  has  entirely 
'  ceased  to  be  heard  in  them,  and  its  cessation  is  accepted 

*  with  all  the  resignation  of  conscious  inferiority.  Above 
'  all,  the  Divine  Messianic  hope,  which  lay  at  the  heart 

*  of  all   that  was  noblest  and  most   inspiring  in  Jewish 

*  religion,   has   either   evaporated  altogether   or  has   lost 

*  its  priceless  personal  element  in  exchange  for  a  vague 
'national  aspiration.' 

It  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  any  treat- 
ment of  these  books  which  seemed  to  suggest  that  they 
were  on  an  equality  with  Scripture  was  increasingly 
resented  as  the  Bible  itself  became  better  known  in 
letter  and  spirit,  and  that  the  movement  for  their  exclu- 
sion from  the  sacred  volume  should  have  begun  as  soon  as 
the  Authorized  Version  began  to  do  its  illuminating  work. 
Such  a  movement  was  all  the  more  inevitable  because 
of  the  extreme  and  fatal  position  which  was  finally  taken 
up  by  the  Church  of  Rome  at  the  Council  of  Trent.  The 
Jews  had  never  admitted  these  books  into  the  Hebrew 
Canon,  and  although  they  were  usually  appended  to  the 
ancient  Greek  and  Latin  versions,  the  practice  of  the 
early  Church  seems  to  have  been  to  call  them  ecclesias- 
tical but  not  canonical,  a  distinction  which  was  meant  to 
make  a  considerable  difference.  Jerome  expressly  dis- 
tinguished between  the  canonical  writings  with  authority 
and  the  non -canonical  writings,  which  he  held  ought 
not  to  be  used  to  '  establish  any  doctrine  '  although  they 
were  useful  for  private  perusal,  and  '  for  example  of 
'  life  and  instruction  of  manners.'  Wiclif,  in  his  day, 
took  up  very  much  the  same  position,  and  described 
them  as  '  without  authority  of  belief,'  a  position  which 
became  very  much  that  of  the  Reformers  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  But  the  Council  of  Trent  anathematized 
all  who  do  not  receive  '  these  entire  books  with  all  their 
'parts  as  sacred  and  canonical.' 


I50  THE  APOCRYPHA 

After  the  Reformation,  the  Church  of  England  adopted 
Jerome's  view,  and  the  sixth  Article  reads  that  '  the 
'  Church  doth  read  [these  books  ]  for  example  of  life 
'  and  instruction  of  manners,  but  yet  doth  not  apply 
'them  to  establish  any  doctrine.'  Luther's  position  was 
that  while  these  Apocryphal  books  are  not  to  be  held 
to  be  equal  to  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  they  are  neverthe- 
less useful  and  good  to  read.  Among  the  earlier  Puritans 
a  milder  as  well  as  a  more  severe  view  was  taken  of 
these  books.  The  'argument'  prefixed  to  them  in  the 
Geneva  Bible  may  be  taken  to  represent  the  more  favour- 
able attitude,  while  the  Westminster  Divines  may  be 
taken  as  representing  the  less  favourable,  when  they 
hold  that  they  are  not  to  be  otherwise  approved  or 
made  use  of  than  other  human  writings.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  the  text  which  Queen  Victoria  put 
on  Prince  Albert's  memorial  at  Balmoral  was  taken  from 
one  of  the  Apocryphal  books  :  '  He  being  made  perfect 
'  in  a  short  time  fulfilled  a  long  time  ;  for  his  soul 
'  pleased  the  Lord  :  therefore  hasted  He  to  take  him 
'  away   from   among  the  wicked  I  ' 

The  name  '  Apocrypha  '  means  hidden  or  concealed, 
and  corresponds  to  the  Hebrew  phrases  '  hidden  books  ' 
and  '  books  of  outsiders,'  and  in  addition  to  the 
Apocrypha  of  the  Old  Testament,  to  which  the  name 
is  specifically  applied,  there  are  also  a  number  of  writings 
which  similarly  profess  to  supplement  the  New  Testament. 
These  are  sometimes  called  the  New  Testament 
Apocrypha,  and  include  gospels,  acts,  apocalypses,  and 
epistles.  These,  however,  have  always  been  excluded 
from  the  Canon,  although  they  are  of  historical  signifi- 
cance and  interest  ;  and  in  no  way  do  they  possess  the 
importance  which  undoubtedly  attaches  to  the  Old 
Testament  Apocrypha. 


BOOK    III 

THREE   CENTURIES    OF   SERVICE 

Chapter  I 

HOW  THE    NEW   VERSION    HAD   TO   WORK   ITS 

WAY 


isi 


'  It  is  a  book  full  of  light  and  wisdom,  will  make  you  wise  to  eternal 
life,  and  furnish  you  with  directions  and  principles  to  guide  and  order 
your  life  safely  and  prudently.  There  is  no  book  like  the  Bible  for  excellent 
learning,  wisdom,  and  use.' — Sir  Matthew  Hale. 


BOOK    III 

THREE    CENTURIES    OF    SERVICE 

Chapter  I 

HOW   THE    NEW   VERSION    HAD    TO    WORK 
ITS  WAY 

TEN  years  after  the  appearance  of  the  new 
translation,  which  was  destined  to  attain  such 
a  supremacy,  Bishop  Andrewes,  himself  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  the  translators,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  still  to  be 
found  taking  his  texts  from  the  Bishops'  Bible,  even  when 
preaching  before  the  King.  In  the  community  generally 
it  was  quite  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  Autho- 
rized Version  vindicated  its  superiority  to  the  Geneva 
version.  Even  after  that  version  ceased  to  be  printed 
in  England,  150,000  copies  were  brought  in  from 
Holland  ;  and  as  late  as  1649,  as  was  already  noted, 
an  edition  of  the  Authorized  Version  appeared  with  the 
Geneva  notes.  The  Pocket -Bible,  too,  with  which 
Cromwell's  soldiers  were  provided,  consisted  of  appro- 
priate Scriptural  quotations  which  were  taken  from  the 
Geneva  Bible. 

That  version  is  also  quoted,  although  rarely,  in  the 
work  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  which  met  during 
the  years  from  1643  to  1648.  What  is  even  more 
noteworthy,  in  the  Translators'  Preface  to  their  own 
work.  Scripture  quotations,  which  are  rather  loosely 
made,  are  sometimes  very  near  the  Geneva  version, 
while  the  Bishops'  Bible  is  never  used.  That  their  own 
version  would  have  been  used,   even  if  it  were  not  yet 

153 


154     THE  NEW   VERSION   WORKING  ITS    WAY 

in  print,  might  have  been  taken  for  granted  :  yet  we 
find,  for  example,  in  i  Kings  12.  4,  '  Make  the  grievous 
'  servitude  of  thy  father,  and  his  sore  yoke,  lighter  '  ; 
and  in  i  Cor.  14.  11  :  'Except  I  know  the  power  of 
'  the  voice,  I  shall  be  to  him  that  speaketh  a  barbarian, 
'and  he  that  speaketh  shall  be  a  barbarian  to  me.' 

The  printing  of  the  Bishops'  Bible  had  been  stopped 
as  soon  as  the  new  version  was  definitely  undertaken  ; 
but  even  in  the  Church  of  England  it  was  not  till  after 
the  Savoy  Conference  in  1661,  that  it  was  finally  and 
ofticially  arranged  that  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  should 
be  read  in  the  Church  Services  from  the  Authorized 
Version.  In  1662,  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  appeared 
in  its  present  form  ;  and  while  the  Psalter  of  the  Great 
Bible  was  left  undisturbed,  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  and 
all  the  longer  portions  of  Scripture  were  uniformly  taken 
from  the  Authorized  Version.  In  this  case  the  rival 
was  not  the  Geneva  version  ;  but  it  is  rather  surprising 
that,  in  the  argument  for  the  change  then  made,  the 
comparison  was  made  with  the  Great  Bible,  and  not 
with  the  Bishops'.  Some  go  so  far  as  to  hold  that 
this  decision  in  1661,  means  that  for  half  a  century 
all  who  received  orders  in  the  Church  of  England  had 
been  assenting  to  an  earlier  version  than  that  which 
bore  on  its  forefront  that  it  was  '  appointed  to  be  read 
'  in  churches,'  and  had  been  prepared  by  His  Majesty's 
special  command. 

The  ordinary  operation  of  the  laws  of  the  human 
mind  naturally  prevented  men  from  hurriedly  abandon- 
ing versions  through  which  God  had  spoken  to  their 
souls,  and  from  which  new  light  was  still  breaking  for 
them.  It  was  so  also  in  Germany  ;  although  there, 
too,  as  among  ourselves,  one  version  was  ultimately  to 
reign  supreme.  For  dogmatic  and  other  reasons,  former 
versions,  dear  to  many  a  heart,  lingered  on  for  a  time 
on  both  sides  of  the  North  Sea  ;  and  in  England  it 
would  by  no  means  be  in  favour  of  the  popular  accep- 
tance of  the  Authorized  Version  that  the  Puritans,  who 
were  rapidly  becoming  more  militant,  as  well  as  more 
numerous,  were  gratuitously  referred  to  in  a  somewhat 
scornful  manner,  both  in  the   Preface  and  the  Dedica- 


CRITICISM  AND   OPPOSITION  155 

tion.  There  was  also  a  widespread  conviction  that 
Bancroft,  who  seems  to  have  been  of  an  autocratic 
temper,  had  used  his  influence  and  authority  to  colour 
the  translation  in  an  anti-Puritan  direction,  wherever 
that  could  be  done.  It  was  currently  reported  that 
he  had  altered  it  in  fourteen  places,  that  it  might 
'  speak  prelatical  language.' 

The  translators  themselves  were  prepared  for  opposi- 
tion to  their  version  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  they  were 
not  prepared  for  such  criticism  as  that  of  Hugh 
Broughton,  the  greatest  Hebraist  of  the  day,  and  a  keen 
supporter  of  the  demand  for  a  new  translation.  In  a 
letter  which  helps  to  explain  why  he  was  not  asked 
to  take  part  in  the  work,  he  wrote  to  the  King  that 
he  would  rather  be  torn  in  pieces  by  wild  horses  than 
impose  such  a  translation  on  poor  churches  ;  and 
declared  that  in  fifteen  verses  in  the  third  chapter  of 
Luke,  the  translators  had  a  score  of  idle  words  to 
account  for  in  the  Day  of  Judgement.  He  was  specially 
indignant  at  Bancroft,  and  predicted  that  by-and-by, 
James,  looking  down  from  Abraham's  bosom,  would 
behold  the  Archbishop  in  the  place  of  woe  !  In  the 
year  1659,  too.  Dr.  Gell,  who  had  been  Archbishop 
Abbot's  chaplain,  published  an  attack  in  which  he  not 
merely  objected  to  trivial  matters,  such  as  the  inversion 
of  the  order  of  words,  and  the  undue  use  of  supple- 
mental terms  ;  but  accused  the  translators  of  moulding 
the  translation  to  suit  their  own  opinions,  while  they 
put  the  truer  renderings  in  the  margin.  Romish  writers 
also  attacked  the  Authorized  Version  for  alleged  '  corrup- 
*  tions,'  which  are  now  to  be  found  embodied  in  their 
own  version.  Richard  Baxter  refers  indignantly  to  the 
'  sectmasters  who  fiercely  cried  down  the  present  transla- 
'  tion  of  the  Scriptures.' 

The  translators  were  accused  of  defective  scholar- 
ship, of  making  needless  changes,  and  even  of  false 
doctrine.  Some  said  they  had  gone  too  far,  others  that 
they  had  not  gone  far  enough.  There  were  even 
demands  for  another  translation  which  would  supersede 
their  work  ;  and  when  preaching  before  the  House  of 
Commons,   in    1645,   ^^  -  John  Lightfoot  urged   Parlia- 


156     THE  NEW  VERSION  WORKING  ITS    WAY 

ment  '  to  think  of  a  review  and  survey  of  the  translation 

*  of  the  Bible,'  and  pleaded  for  '  an  exact,  vigorous,  and 

*  lively  translation.'  The  Long  Parliament  actually  made 
an  order  a  few  years  later  that  a  Bill  should  be  brought 
in  providing  for  a  new  translation.  But  though  a 
Committee  was  appointed  and  held  frequent  meetings, 
nothing  came  of  the  proposal  ;  and  ere  long  every 
desire  for  a  change  had  died  away.  When  the  leading 
scholars  of  the  time  were  consulted,  they  pronounced 
the  version  of  1611  the  'best  of  any  in  the  world,' 
and  so  the  matter  ended.  In  Scotland,  also,  as  early 
as  1655,  a  proposal  had  been  made  for  a  better  trans- 
lation, by  John  Row,  a  scholarly  member  of  a  family 
of  note  and  learning  ;    and  with  the  same  result. 

It  had  not  been  otherwise  when  Jerome's  Vulgate 
appeared,  although  his  version  was  destined  to  be 
declared  by  the  Council  of  Trent  altogether  correct, 
above  criticism,  and  incapable  of  improvement.  It  also 
was  called  revolutionary  and  heretical,  an  impious  alter- 
ing of  the  inspired  Word,  and  subversive  of  faith  in 
Holy  Scripture.  But  Jerome  insisted  that  no  amount  of 
sentiment  could  be  a  plea  for  a  faulty  Bible,  and  that 
the  most  venerable  translation  must  give  way  if  found 
to  differ  from  the  original  text.  And  by -and -by  men 
so  completely  forgot  that  this  once  reprobated  version 
was  only  a  translation,  that  when  in  1522  it  appeared 
between  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  parallel  columns  of  the 
Complutensian  Polyglot,  they  compared  its  position,  half 
humorously  and  half  in  earnest,  to  that  of  our  Lord 
between  the  two  thieves  on  the  Cross.  And  so  it  was 
also  with  the  English  Version  of  161  i,  although  on 
more  rational  lines.  It  won  its  way  steadily,  and  its 
victory   when   won   was    complete. 

For  more  than  two  centuries  its  sway  was  unques- 
tioned in  the  affection  of  the  English-speaking  peoples, 
and  it  won  on  its  merits.  It  had  meant  something,  no 
doubt,  that  the  King  and  bishops  and  great  scholars 
had  contributed  to  its  production  ;  and  it  meant  much 
that,  unlike  the  Revised  Version  in  our  time,  it  had  not 
to  face  one  dominant  version,  but  found  a  variety  of 
versions  competing  for  the  popular  favour.     But  it  meant 


THE  PEOPLES  BOOK  157 

most  of  all  for  it  that  at  last  it  was  possible  for  the  whole 
nation  to  gather  round  one  Book.  The  people  soon 
saw  how  pre-eminently  the  Authorized  Version  was  fitted 
to  be  their  book  ;  while  scholars  on  their  part  soon 
saw  that  it  was  the  best  translation  which  had  as  yet 
appeared.  It  found  its  way  and  claimed  its  place 
wherever  the  English  language  was  spoken  ;  and  when 
men  like  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  went  out  to  claim  new 
territories  for  Christ  and  freedom,  they  carried  it  with 
them  to  be  their  rallying  centre  and  standard,  alike  in 
Church  and  State  ;  in  their  religion  and  in  their  speech. 
In  Scotland  it  became  the  people's  book  in  the  very 
fullest  sense,  and  nowhere  did  it  lay  its  impress  more 
thoroughly  on  the  national  life  and  thought.  There 
had  been  no  indigenous  Scottish  version  ;  but  in  1579 
an  edition  of  the  Geneva  Bible  had  been  printed  in 
Edinburgh,  and  arrangements  made  for  its  circulation 
among  the  people,  and  for  its  use  in  the  churches.  In 
1636,  however,  it  was  enacted  in  the  *  Canons  and 
'  Constitutions     Ecclesiastical  '     that     *  a     Bible     of    the 

*  largest  volume  '  should  be  provided  for  every  parish 
and   '  that  the   Bible  should  be  the  translation   of  King 

*  James.'  That  translation  came  among  Scotsmen  under  un- 
favourable auspices  alike  as  English,  and  as  having  been 
promoted  by  a  King  who  had  drifted  far  from  the  dearest 
aspirations  of  the  land  of  his  birth.  It  came  with 
nothing  whatever  to  recommend  it,  and  found  another 
version,  in  possession  ;  yet  by  its  own  merits  it  won 
an  unrivalled  sway,  and  triumphed  over  prejudice  and 
animosity. 

In  the  Directory  for  Public  Worship,  ratified  by  the 
General  Assembly  in  1645,  ^  ^^^^^  w^s  enacted  was 
that  '  all  the  canonical  Books  of  the  Old  and  New 
'  Testaments  shall  be  publicly  read  in  the  vulgar  tongue 
'  out  of  the  best  allowed  translation  '  ;  but  although 
the  Geneva  version  lingered,  and  was  even  used  occa- 
sionally for  quotations  in  the  Acts  of  the  General 
Assembly,  the  Authorized  Version  soon  reigned  with  an 
unquestioned  mastery.  Professor  Milligan,  indeed,  notes 
that  in  a  certain  Fifeshire  parish  a  Geneva  Bible  was 
still  in  use  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  ; 


iS8     THE  NEW   VERSION   WORKING  ITS    WAY 

but  such  an  exception  only  serves  to  illustrate  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  disappearance  of  the  former  version, 
which  had  meant  so  much  and  done  so  much  for  multi- 
tudes in  earlier  days.  It  is  difficult  to  realize  now, 
that  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  Authorized 
Version  were  once  popularly  believed  to  have  allowed 
ecclesiastical  and  doctrinal  bias  to  vitiate  some  of  their 
renderings  ;  but  that  it  was  so  shows  how  truly  it  had 
not  only  to  work  its  way,  but  in  some  respects  even 
to  fight  its  way.  It  has  become  such  an  integral  part 
of  the  national  life  and  thought,  that  it  is  difficult  even 
to  imagine  a  time  when  it  was  not  at  work  in  the 
midst  ;  but  it  was  once  only  a  version,  and  not  the 
Bible  of  the  English-speaking  peoples. 


Chapter  II 
AT  WORK   IN   THE   HOME 


JS9 


'  We  search  the  world,  and  truth  we  cull, 
The  good,  the  pure,  the  beautiful, 
From  graven  rock  and  written  scroll, 
And  all  old  flower-fields  of  the  soul  : 
And,  weary  seekers  of  the  best, 
We  come  back,  laden  from  our  quest, 
To  find  that  all  the  sages  said 
Was  in  the  Book  our  mothers  read.' 


Chapter  II 
AT  WORK   IN  THE   HOME 

ALMOST  everything  in  Church  and  State  depends 
on  the  home  ;  and  these  tliree  centuries  of  service 
have  seen  great  changes  in  the  homes  of  our  land,  and 
have  brought  new  tenderness  and  beauty  into  them .  The 
greatest  of  all  these  changes  are  due  to  the  English 
Bible,  which  has  not  only  enthroned  the  father  as  priest 
in  the  home,  but  has  made  the  Fatherhood  of  God  in 
Christ  the  type  of  what  an  earthly  father  should  be. 
The  same  revelation  which  ennobled  the  Puritan  husband 
and  father,  ennobled  his  wife  and  children  ;  for  were 
not  they  Divinely  born,  free,  rational,  and  immortal  souls 
like  himself,  around  each  of  whom  the  conflict  of  the 
ages  between  purity  and  evil  had  to  be  waged,  and  in 
whom  all  heaven  was  eagerly  concerned  ? 

The  way  in  which  John  Bunyan,  for  example,  speaks 
of  his  family  is  altogether  different  from  that  in  which 
even    good    men    spoke   a    century   before.      The   atmo- 
sphere   was    changed  ;     and,    as    Mr.    Green    has    shown 
in  his  history,   it  was  the  widespread  use  of  the  Bible 
which  created  the  new  atmosphere,  and  sent  new  moral 
and    spiritual    impulses    all    through    the    nation .      '  The 
larger  geniality  of  the  age  that  had  passed  away  shrank 
into   an   intense   tenderness   within   the   narrower   circle 
of  the  home.     "  He  was  as  kind  a  father,"  says  Mrs. 
Hutchison  of  her  husband,  one  of  the  regicides,  "  as  dear 
"  a  brother,  as  good  a  master,  as  faithful  a  friend,  as  the 
"  world  had."  '     Those  who  would  rob  us  of  the  Bible 
would  rob  us  of  all  that  is  best  in  our  homes  and  of  all 
that  a  pure  home -life  involves.     '  Where  are  your  wife 

M  i6i 


1 62  AT   WORK  IN  THE  HOME 

'  and  family  ?  '  was  the  significant  inquiry  addressed  once 
and  again  to  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  by  the  way  ;  and  the 
Second  Part  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  the  author's 
acknowledgment  that  the  question  was  a  fair  one.  '  A 
'  solitary  being  is  either  an  animal  or  a  god,'  said 
Aristotle  ;  but  a  solitary  Christian  is  a  contradiction 
in  terms,  especially  if  God  has  set  him  in  a  home  with 
wife  and  family. 

The  conception  of  the  Family  Bible  is  a  very  beautiful 
and  sacred  one  ;  and  even  if  the  huge  tomes  which 
were  once  the  fashion,  and  served  as  muniment  chambers 
in  pre -registration  days,  are  not  so  common  as  they 
were,  it  is  a  splendid  thing  when  the  family  has  its 
centre  and  inspiration  in  the  Word  of  God  manifestly 
exalted  in  the  midst.  Those  who  have  once  read  it 
can  never  forget  the  picture  which  Robert  Burns  has 
drawn  of  a  family  gathering  round  the  Bible,  in  his 
'  Cottar's  Saturday  Night.'  To  look  at  the  father  as 
he  '  wales  a  portion  wi'  judicious  care,'  and  to  hear 
them  sing  their  evening  psalm,  and  think  of  what  such 
exercises  imply,  is  to  see  how  abundantly  warranted 
was  the  patriotic  outburst  that  '  from  scenes  like  these 
'  old  Scotia's  grandeur  springs  ;  that  makes  her  loved 
'  at  home,  revered  abroad.'  The  home -life  which  gathers 
round  the  Bible  and  the  family  altar  is  sacred  in  every 
way  ;  and  the  nation  is  sane  and  strong,  free  and 
prosperous,  in  proportion  to  the  Bible-loving  homes 
within  her  borders.  The  cry  '  for  altar  and  hearth  ' 
has  its  fullness  of  meaning  only  for  those  who  have 
Christian  homes. 

The  Bible  in  the  home  means  much  for  the  young 
who  grow  up  therein.  It  is  not  precept  that  counts 
so  much  as  example  ;  and  however  far  any  may  wander 
even  from  such  a  home,  they  can  never  doubt  that 
religion  can  be  real  or  that  God  has  spoken  to  men 
in  words  they  can  hear  and  understand.  It  is  from 
such  homes  that  the  Bible  goes  out  to  serve  in  other 
homes  and  other  lands  ;  in  the  sailor's  box,  the  servant - 
girl's  trunk,  the  emigrant's  baggage.  It  cheers  the 
mother's  heart  to  know  that,  although  her  son  is  far 
away,  he  nevertheless  draws  near  to  God  in  His  Word  ; 


THE  DIVINE  PITY  163 

and    that    space    vanishes    as    the    sundered    ones    meet 
around  the  throne.     And  who  can  tell  how  many  have 
been  kept  from  evil,  amid  new  surroundings  and  strange 
temptations,  by  the  habit  of  daily  reading  some  portion 
of   God's   Word  ?      It   is   told   of  a   mother   of  a   family, 
whose     husband     was     an     unbeliever,     who     jested     at 
religion  even  before  his  children,  that  she  nevertheless 
succeeded   in  bringing  them   all   up   in   the   fear   of  the 
Lord.     When  she  was  asked  how  she  had  managed  this, 
she   said  :   '  Because  to   the  authority   of  a  father   I   did 
not    oppose    the    authority    of    a    mother,    but    that    of 
God.      From    their    earliest    years    my    children    have 
always  seen  the  Bible  on  my  table.     This  holy  Book 
has    constituted   the    whole    of    their    religious    instruc- 
tion.     I    was    silent,    that    I    might   allow    it   to    speak. 
Did  they   propose   a   question  ;     did   they   commit   any 
fault  ;     did   they   perform   any   good  action — I    opened 
the     Bible,     and     the     Bible     answered,     reproved,     or 
encouraged     them.       The     constant     reading     of     the 
Scriptures     has     alone     wrought     the     prodigy     which 
surprises  you.' 
The    Bible    in    the    home    also    means    much    for    the 
sorrowing  and  dying.     '  There  is  no  book,'  said  Selden, 
'  upon   which  we   can   rest   in  a  dying  moment   but  the 
'  Bible.'      Nothing   but   the   Divine   pity   can    suffice   for 
the   infinite  pathos   of  human   life,   or   for  the   tear  and 
wear   of   the   ordinary   daily   toil  ;     and   what   words   are 
so  tender  for  the  bereaved  and  disappointed,  the  stricken 
and  broken-hearted,  as  those  which  God  has  addressed 
to   men  in   His   Holy   Word  ?      '  He   heareth   the   cry   of 
'the     afflicted.'      He     hearkens     to     the     voice     of    our 
weeping,  and  is  the  helper  of  the  fatherless.      He  it  is 
who    gives    songs    in    the    night.      'The    Lord    is    my 
'  shepherd  ;     I    shall    not    want.       Yea,    though    I    walk 
'  through    the    valley    of    the    shadow    of    death,    I    will 
'  fear  no   evil  ;    for  Thou  art   with   me  ;    Thy   rod   and 
'Thy  staff  they  comfort  me.'      'He  setteth  the  solitary 

*  in  families,  and  healeth  the  broken  in  heart.'    '  In  Him 
'  the  fatherless   findeth  mercy.'      '  Weeping  may  endure 

*  for  a  night,   but   joy   cometh  in  the  morning.'      '  The 

*  redeemed    of    the    Lord    shall    return,    and    come    with 


1 64  AT   WORK  IN  THE  HOME 

singing  unto  Zion  ;  and  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon 
their  head  ;  they  shall  obtain  gladness  and  joy  ;  and 
sorrow  and  mourning  shall  flee  away.'  '  Come  unto 
Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.'  'I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you.  And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I 
will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  Myself,  that 
where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also.  I  will  not  leave 
you  comfortless  :  I  will  come  to  you.  Because  I  live, 
ye  shall  live  also.'  'Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth 
us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  '  And 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  :  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away.' 

Cardinal    Newman    says  :     '  What    Scripture    specially 
illustrates,    from    its    first    page    to    its    last,    is    God's 
providence  ;    and  that  is  nearly  the  only  doctrine  held 
with  a  real  assent  by  the  mass  of  Englishmen.     Hence 
the  Bible  is  so   great  a  solace  and  refuge  to  those  in 
trouble.      I    repeat,    I    am    not    speaking    of    particular 
schools  and  parties  in  England,  whether  of  the  High 
Church    or    the    Low  ;     but    of    the    mass    of    piously- 
minded  and  well -living  people  in  all  parts  of  the  com- 
munity.'    The  English  Bible,  that  is  to  say,  has  made 
God  and  His  government  real  for  those  who  come  under 
its  power.     They  know  Him  there  as  gracious  and  not 
as    blind    fate  ;     as    making    His    strength    perfect    in 
their    weakness,    and    upholding    them    in    their    con- 
flict    and     sorrow.       Mr.     Barrie     tells     that     a     short 
time  before  his  mother  died,  his  father  put  her  Testa- 
ment into  her  hand,  and  it  fell  open  at  the  fourteenth 
chapter   of   St.   John.      She   had   been   a   great   sufferer, 
and  she  knew  where  to  seek  for  comfort  and  strength. 
Other    Bibles    may    open    at    the    twenty -third    Psalm, 
and    others    at   the   third    chapter    of    St.    John.      There 
mav   be   sufferers,    too,    who    make    discoveries    of   their 
own    in    the    Word    far    from    the    beaten    track,    and 
meet    God    out    on    the    bare    uplands    where    no    other 
draws  near  to  hear  His  voice.     God's  Word  has  depths 
in  it  which  are  only  for  the  sorrowing  and  the  dying. 
A  great  critic  once  said  of  a  great  singer  that  if  hei; 


CROMWELL'S  DEATHBED  165 

heart  were  broken,  she  would  be  the  finest  singer  in 
Europe.  There  are  tones  in  the  life  as  well  as  tones 
in  the  voice  which  sunshine  alone  can  never  bring. 
There  are  heights  and  depths  in  Scripture  which  can 
only  be  discovered  by  those  who  draw  near  by  the  way 
of  anguish  and  pain.  In  the  time  of  trouble  God  hides 
His  tried  ones  in  His  pavilion,  and  they  see  new  wonders 
in  His  Word,  which  is  His  Tent  of  Meeting  for  those 
whose  lives  are  shadowed  and  who  have  been  driven 
out  into  the  wilderness  of  sorrow  and  loss.  There  are 
riches  in  the  Bible  which  are  never  discovered  or 
understood  except  by  the  lonely  and  the  anguish- 
enlightened. 

When  Oliver  Cromwell  was  dying,  he  asked  that 
Philippians  4.  11 -13  should  be  read  to  him.  'Not 
'  that  I  speak  in  respect  of  want  :  for  I  have 
'  learned    ...  to     be     content.        I     know     both     how 

*  to  be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to  abound  .  .  . 
'  and  to  suffer  need.     I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 

*  which  strengtheneth  me.'  And  then  he  repeated  the 
words  of  the  passage  to  himself.  When  the  Apostle 
spoke  of  his  contentment  and  submission  to  the  will 
of  God  in  all  conditions,  he  said  :  '  It's  true,  Paul, 
'  you   have   learned   this,    and   attained   to   this    measure 

*  of  grace  ;  but  what  shall  I  do  ?  Ah,  poor  creature, 
'it  is  a  hard  lesson  for  me  to  take  out  1  I  find  it 
'  so.'  But  when  he  came  to  the  words  which  followed, 
faith  began  to  work,  and  his  heart  found  comfort  and 
support,   and   he   said  :     '  He   that   was    Paul's    Christ   is 

*  my  Christ  too  '  ;  and  so  he  drew  water  out  of  the 
wells  of  salvation.  And  such  an  experience  is  just  that 
of  unrecorded  multitudes,  writ  large,  in  which  God's 
Word  restores  the  faith  of  the  stricken,  cheers  the 
downcast  and  chases  despair  away  ;  revives  courage 
and  binds  up  the  wounds  of  the  struggling  and  driven. 

Nor  is  the  blessed  influence  of  the  Bible  in  the  home 
confined  to  any  particular  age,  or  to  those  in  special 
need.  It  is  for  the  ordinary  as  well  as  for  the  excep- 
tional, and  there  should  be  nothing  hid  from  its  gracious 
power.  Very  specially  is  it  for  those  who  are  bearing 
the   burden  and   heat   of  the   day  ;     for  the   unromantic 


1 66  AT   WORK  IN  THE  HOME 

years  of  middle  life  ;  for  all  who  journey  on  the  beaten 
track  of  the  commonplace,  neither  rising  with  more  than 
eagle's  flight  into  the  unseen,  nor  running  in  the  way, 
but  walking  steadily  on,  and  doing  their  day's  work 
in  courage  and  faith.  Many  are  the  springs  which  well 
up  for  such  travellers  by  the  dusty  wayside  ;  new  wells 
opened  and  old  wells  reopened  ;  and  it  is  certain  that 
our  homes  will  be  pure  and  noble,  holy  and  inspiring, 
just  as  the  Bible  is  honoured  in  them  and  its  precepts 
obeyed  ;  and  its  quickening  and  comfort  are  enjoyed 
from  day  to  day.  There  is  no  more  tender  or  sacred 
word  in  our  language  than  'home.'  Our  hearts  grow 
soft  as  we  think  of  '  Home,  Sweet  Home,'  and  we  pity 
the  nations  which  have  only  one  word  for  '  house  '  and 
*  home.'  But  let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  it  is  to 
the  three  centuries  of  service  during  which  the  Autho- 
rized Version  has  held  on  its  way  in  power  and  grace 
that  we  owe  the  strength  and  beauty  of  our  home -life 
at  its  best. 


Chapter  III 
AT    WORK    IN    CONNECTION    WITH    THE    CHURCH 


i;6^ 


'  Most  wondrous  Book !  bright  candle  of  the  Lord  ! 
Star  of  eternity  !    The  only  star 
By  which  the  bark  of  man  can  navigate 
The  sea  of  life,  and  gain  the  coast  of  bliss 
Securely  ;  only  star,  which  rose  on  time, 
And,  on  its  dark  and  troubled  billows,  still 
As  generation,  drifting  slowly  by. 
Succeeded  generation,  threw  a  ray 
Of  heaven's  own  light,  and,  to  the  hills  of  God — 
The  everlasting  hills — pointed  the  sinner's  eye.' 

POLLOK. 


Chapter  III 
AT  WORK  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  CHURCH 

JUST  because  of  what  the  English  Bible  has  been 
doing  in  the  home  throughout  these  three  centuries 
of  service,  its  influence  has  spread  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  Christian  home  to  the  social  and  public  life 
of  the  nation  ;  to  win  men  and  women  and  little  children 
for  Christ,  to  set  the  solitary  in  families,  and  to  create 
new  homes  to  be  centres  of  light  and  leading  in  turn. 
The  philosopher  Plato  thought  of  the  home  as  such  an 
anti-social  citadel  of  selfishness  that  he  proposed  to 
abolish  the  family  ;  but  it  is  through  the  family  and 
the  home  that  the  Bible  blesses  mankind  most.  The 
Church  began  in  a  family  and  a  home,  and  it  is  still 
made  up  of  Christian  homes. 

We  find  that  during  these  bygone  centuries  the  Bible 
has  ever  been  busy  in  the  great  work  of  bringing  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  inciting  and  satisfying  the 
searcher  for  truth.  Like  its  Divine  Author,  it  knows 
our  frame  and  remembers  that  we  are  dust.  It  speaks 
every  language  of  the  human  heart  and  every  dialect 
of  every  tongue.  The  spirit  of  the  sacred  writers  lives 
on  in  the  English  translation  ;  and  although  the  Bible 
originated  in  the  East,  it  has  found  a  welcome  and 
a  home  in  the  West,  as  if  it  were  native  to  the  soil. 
It  begins  by  letting  the  needy  see  their  need,  and  it 
ends  by  satisfying  every  true  yearning  in  such  a  way 
as  to  lead  on  through  a  Divine  discontent  to  fullness 
of  fellowship  with  God.  In  proportion  as  the  Bible 
is  honoured  does  the  stream  of  blessing  flow.     St.  Paul 

was  led  to   the  deliberate   conviction  that   God's   Word 

169 


I70  THE    WORD  AND    THE   CHURCH 

could  work  even  through  those  who  were  moved  to 
proclaim  it  by  an  evil  spirit  of  envy  and  strife.  He 
believed  that  if  only  the  Divine  truth  gets  an  entrance 
into  the  mind  and  heart,  it  will  do  its  own  blessed  work, 
although  the  channel  through  which  the  stream  has 
flov/ed  is  neither  perfect  nor  pure.  The  truth  is  great, 
and  will  prevail  even  although  it  is  presented  in  a  poor 
and  unworthy  fashion.  '  The  words  that  I  speak  unto 
'you,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life.'  The  Bible 
carries  its  own  warrant  with  it,  and  its  own  Divine 
power.  The  laws  of  the  universe  are  on  its  side,  for 
this  is  God's  universe  ;  and  ours  is  a  redeemed  world, 
even  if  it  be  a  fallen  world.  Men  have  come  under 
the  illumining  and  converting  power  of  the  Bible  who 
began  to  study  it  in  order  to  attack  and  confute  it. 
Those  who  circulate  the  Bible  may  do  so  with  absolute 
confidence  in  the  inherent  power  of  the  Divine  message, 
not  only  to  lay  men's  needs  bare,  but  to  satisfy  the 
longings  it  has  aroused  for   God  and  His   eternal  life. 

One  of  the  outstanding  facts  of  human  life  is  that 
man  was  made  for  God,  and  that  there  are  depths  in 
his  being  which  none  but  Christ  can  satisfy.  The  idols 
which  exist  everywhere  in  the  dark  heathen  lands  show 
how  deep  is  this  natural  yearning  of  the  heart  of  man 
for  God.  Man  is  a  religious  being  ;  and  when  he  is 
ignorant  of  the  true  God,  he  will  build  an  altar  to 
the  unknown.  Into  the  midst  of  all  this  yearning  and 
all  this  darkness,  the  Bible  came  as  a  river  of  life. 
There  had  been  tiny  springs  elsewhere  which  sent  forth 
their  streams,  for  God  has  never  left  Himself  without 
a  witness  ;  but  this  is  the  river  of  God  in  all  its  majesty 
and  fullness,  and  nowhere  has  it  flowed  more  wonder- 
fully into  the  lives  of  men  than  through  our  own 
Authorized  Version. 

Nothing  has  supreme  authority  for  the  seeking  soul  but 
this  Word  of  God.  It  is  significant  that  when  such  a 
spiritual  genius  as  Bunyan  first  introduces  us  to  his 
Pilgrim  he  has  already  the  Bible  in  his  hand.  Bunyan 
himself  was  never  out  of  the  Book  ;  and  he  had  no 
faith  in  any  pilgrimage  which  was  not  Bible -inspired, 
and  which  did  not  make  much  of  the  Bible  as  the  Book 


THE  BIBLE  AND  REVIVAL  171 

of  God,  Much  of  the  charm  and  much  of  the  spiritual 
power  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  itself  are  due  to 
the  extent  to  which  it  is  saturated  with  Bible  truth. 
And  Bunyan's  testimony  and  experience  have  been  true 
of  seeking  souls  all  the  ages  through. 

In  the  time  of  the  Methodist  awakening,  when  in 
some  respects  the  Gospel  was  first  preached  to  the  poor 
in  England,  one  of  the  sobriquets  of  the  Society  which 
Wesley  formed  in  Oxford  was  '  The  Bible -moths,'  a 
name  which  speaks  for  itself.  The  new  place  given  to 
the  Bible  was  at  once  the  cause  of  the  Revival  and 
its  result.  In  the  dreary  ages  of  Socinianism  and 
worldliness,  the  Bible  had  fallen  into  neglect.  Hannah 
More  tells  that  in  all  the  parish  of  Cheddar  she  only 
found  one  Bible,  and  that  it  was  used  to  prop  up  ,a 
flower -pot.  The  first  indication  that  the  tide  was  turning 
was  to  be  found  in  the  new  prominence  assigned  to  the 
Word — some  of  the  most  important  editions  of  the 
Authorized  Version  appeared  then  ;  and  in  the  new 
willingness  to  hear  what  God  was  saying  to  perishing 
mankind.  In  earlier  times,  too,  in  Scotland,  when  the 
light  of  the  Reformation  was  breaking,  one  of  the  nick- 
names of  those  who  sought  to  be  obedient  to  the  truth 
which  God  was  revealing  was  '  New  Testamenters,' 
another  name  which  speaks  for  itself.  Like  Him  who 
gave  it  and  of  whom  it  tells,  the  Bible  gives  rest  to 
the  weary  and  satisfies  the  longing  soul.  It  can  speak 
to  the  waifs  and  strays,  to  the  flotsam  and  jetsam,  to 
those  who  are  all  battered  and  torn  among  the  wreckage, 
and  call  them  to  newness  of  life.  And  while  every 
legitimate  help  to  understand  it  better  should  be 
welcomed,  since  it  works  through  the  understanding  and 
never  by  magic,  any  helps  which  come  between  the 
soul  and  Scripture  itself  are  no  better  than  hindrances 
in  disguise. 

It  is  but  a  step  from  thinking  of  the  Bible  as 
satisfying  the  needs  of  the  seeker  for  truth,  even  as 
it  reveals  to  him  what  his  real  needs  are,  to  thinking 
of  it  in  connection  with  the  work  of  revival.  How 
far  it  is  the  ideal  to  think  of  revivals  from  any  other 
viewpoint   than    that    it   is    God's    will   that    they    should 


112  THE    WORD  AND   THE   CHURCH 

be  continuous,  cannot  be  discussed  here.  But  that  the 
Church  owes  much  to  times  of  blessing  and  quickening 
is  beyond  question  ;  just  as  it  is  also  beyond  question 
that  there  is  nothing  we  need  more  in  these  days  than 
a  revival  which  will  sweep  all  over  the  land  and  make 
religion  real  for  rich  and  poor,  for  young  and  old  alike. 
It  may  be  that  in  God's  mercy  this  will  come  through 
the  revived  attention  which  this  Tercentenary  should 
cause  to  be  given  to  the  Scriptures,  and  every  celebra- 
tion ought  to  have  this  end  in  view.  Revival  can  only 
come  through  the  simplicities  of  the  faith  being  set 
forth  anew,  as  they  are  therein  declared  ;  and  through 
the  faithfulness  of  believers  to  the  high  things  of  which 
the  Bible  alone  tells  in  their  fullness. 

It  is  through  the  Bible  alone  that  the  Divine  message 
can  reach  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  in  such  a 
way  as  to  result  in  widespread  quickening  and  uplift. 
Its  lucid  simplicity  appeals  to  the  men  of  culture  and 
intellect,  and  yet  speaks  to  the  untutored  in  their  own 
speech.  It  comes  to  men  in  the  cities  and  to  men  on 
the  moorlands  alike  ;  and  however  much  the  dialects  of 
the  English  dales  may  differ  from  those  of  the 
Scottish  glens  or  the  Welsh  valleys,  as  they  all  differ 
among  themselves,  all  alike  can  hear  God  speaking  to 
them  in  their  own  tongue  in  the  English  Bible,  and  all 
alike  have  rejoiced  in  its  message  of  salvation.  There 
can  be  no  other  starting-point  for  the  revival  for  which 
so  many  are  longing  and  praying  and  even  looking,  the 
revival  which  will  chase  all  indifference  away  and  touch 
the  entire  community,  but  the  Word  of  God,  which  liveth 
and  abideth  for  ever.  When  Mr.  Moody  was  in  Scot- 
land, he  testified  that  his  intercourse  with  inquirers  was 
more  satisfactory  and  fruitful  there  than  in  any  other 
land  in  this  respect,  that  there  was  almost  always  some 
acquaintance  with  Scripture  to  which  he  could  helpfully 
appeal . 

It  is  from  the  Bible  as  Divine  that  the  abiding 
inspiration  has  come,  which  has  sent  out  the  most 
successful  missionaries  and  evangelists  to  gather  in  the 
lost  ;  and  no  evangelical  agency  can  expect  to  prosper 
unless  it  keeps  the  Bible  in  the  very  forefront.     Every 


POWER  IN  THE  BOOK  173 

revival  movement  which  has  ever  blessed  our  land  has 
gathered  round  the  Book  ;  and  the  work  which  makes 
strong  and  enduring  Christian  men  and  women,  and 
lifts  them  above  the  fascination  of  every  heresy,  is  that 
which  goes  down  into  the  depths  where  in  Scripture 
itself  the  eternal  springs  are  for  ever  rising.  Just  in 
proportion  as  any  work  of  ingathering  exalts  the  Bible, 
and  is  permeated  by  it  alike  in  letter  and  spirit,  does  it 
pursue  healthy  and  fruitful  lines  and  advance  to  full 
fruition.  One  who  shared  in  the  great  revival  of  1859, 
and  who  has  not  long  since  gone  home,  has  told  how 
it  all  gathered  round  the  Bible  ;  and  that,  unlike  some 
other  such  movements  before  and  since,  it  was  in  no 
way  associated  with  any  man  or  organization.  He  was 
a  University  student  at  the  time  ;  and  when  he  came 
home  from  college  one  April,  he  found  that  for  months 
there  had  been  a  Gospel  meeting  every  night  in  the 
kitchen  of  his  father's  farm.  But  there  had  been  little  or 
no  regular  preaching  ;  at  any  rate,  those  who  came  had 
not  gathered  to  hear  anyone  in  particular  preach.  They 
had  just  been  gathering  round  the  Word  and  waiting 
on  God  therein  in  prayer,  and  the  results  were 
momentous,  wonderful,  and  enduring.  In  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  at  least,  there  has  been  nothing  as  widespread 
or  abiding  since  ;  and  it  may  be  that  similar  results, 
or  even  greater  results — for  the  Word  of  God  is  not 
bound — would  be  once  more  enjoyed  were  there  more 
faith  in  the  inherent  power  of  the  Divine  Word  itself, 
and  less  dependence  on  machinery  of  man's  devising. 

Sometimes  it  has  even  been  found  helpful  to  keep 
the  actual  Book  visibly  in  evidence.  One  who  was  used 
long  ago  among  the  Arabs  has  told  that  he  kept  the 
open  Bible  ever  in  his  hand  as  he  spoke.  '  He  felt 
*  that  his  power  was  in  the  Book  '  ;  and  so  conscious 
was  he  of  this,  that  he  kept  it  literally  in  sight 
wherever  he  went  ;  not  as  a  charm,  but  as  the  visible 
token  that  all  his  trust  was  in  God,  and  that  the  work 
which  endures  must  be  wholly  of  Him  and  His  Word. 
And  whether  we  think  of  the  great  revival  of  heart 
religion  which  we  call  the  Reformation  ;  or  of  the 
Puritan  Revival  which  kept  the  fire  burning  on  the  altar 


174  THE    WORD  AND   THE   CHURCH 

in  our  land  when  the  Counter-Reformation  was  doing 
deadly  work  everywhere  else  ;  or  of  the  Methodist 
Revival,  either  in  its  earlier  phases  when  so  many  were 
won  for  Christ,  or  in  its  later  phases  when  the 
Primitives  came  to  be  such  a  blessing  to  the  villages 
of  England — we  always  fmd  that  the  good  work  gathered 
round  the  Bible,  and  especially  round  the  English  Bible. 
It  is  through  its  pages  that  both  preparation  and 
call  have  come  to  those  whom  God  has  used  most,  alike 
in  the  homelands  and  in  the  regions  beyond.  Not  other- 
v/ise  can  there  be  an  adequate  sense  of  human  need, 
or  of  the  fullness  of  the  Divine  preparation  for  it.  Not 
otherwise  can  men  see  the  corroding,  corrupting  power 
of  sin  in  the  light  of  the  Cross.  Not  otherwise  can  those 
who  discover  something  of  the  immensity  of  their  debt 
to  Christ  on  the  Cross  come  under  the  dominion  of 
His  constraining  love.  Not  otherwise  is  that  compas- 
sion for  souls,  that  yearning  pity  for  the  weary  and 
heavy  laden,  begotten  which  makes  men  and  women 
Christlike  in  their  endeavours  to  spread  the  blessing 
and   share  the  light. 

All  this  was  made  manifest,  also,  in  the  Evangelical 
Revival,  with  its  Bible  Societies  organized  for  work  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  as  well  as  in  similar  movements 
since.  God's  Word  has  been  the  hammer  which  has 
broken  the  idols  in  pieces  ;  the  light  which  has  shown 
men  the  way  in  which  they  ought  to  walk  ;  the  stream  at 
which  the  thirsty  have  quenched  their  thirst  and  the 
hand  which  has  lifted  up  the  fallen,  bound  up  the  broken 
in  heart,  and  guided  the  faltering.  The  Evangelists 
have  spoken  as  touch  ingly  in  English  in  our  own  time  as 
they  did  in  Greek  in  the  far  past  ;  and  although  their 
message  never  works  by  magic,  but  always  along  moral 
and  spiritual  lines,  it  does  work  as  if  it  were  a  holy 
charm.  God's  Spirit  works  through  the  Book  which 
He  Himself  inspired,  and  which  He  has  so  marvellously 
preserved  that  it  might  be  rendered  into  many  tongues. 


Chapter  IV 
AT  WORK   IN   THE    NATION   AND   THE   STATE 


I7S 


'  Let  mental  cullure  go  on  advancing,  let  the  natural  sciences  progress 
in  ever  greater  extent  and  depth,  and  the  human  mind  widen  itself  as 
much  as  it  desires — beyond  the  elevation  and  moral  culture  of  Christianity 
as  it  shines  forth  in  the  Gospels,  it  cannot  go.' — Goethe 


Chapter  IV 
AT  WORK   IN  THE   NATION   AND  THE   STATE 

DURING  these  three  centuries  of  service  the 
Authorized  Version  has  done  a  great  work,  not 
only  in  the  home  and  the  Church,  but  also  in  the  wider 
sphere  of  the  national  life.  It  has  played  a  great  part 
in  the  development  of  the  nation  on  broad,  generous 
lines  ;  and  has  had  far  more  to  do  with  the  prosperity 
of  Great  Britain  and  her  offshoots,  as  compared  with 
the  Latin  races,  than  any  racial  difference.  It  has 
not  only  made  Britons  free,  it  has  made  them  fit 
to  be  free,  which  is  vastly  more  difficult  and  more 
important.  These  three  centuries  have  seen  far-reach- 
ing changes  ;  one  king  beheaded,  another  driven 
into  exile,  and  power  passing  from  monarch  and 
oligarchy  to  the  sovereign  people.  Men  see  now 
that  the  State  is  not  the  evil  world  in  another  guise, 
something  to  be  ignored  if  not  resisted  by  Christians 
in  their  efforts  to  bring  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  They 
recognize  now  that  it  is  an  ordinance  of  God  ;  that 
the  ideal  is  a  holy  nation,  a  kingdom  of  saints,  and 
it  is  the  fuller  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  which  has 
brought  about  this  change,  as  well  as  the  new  outlook 
and  new  endeavour  after  public  righteousness  to  which  it 
has  led. 

*  We  must  educate  our  masters,'  said  a  statesman 
when  our  working-men  first  received  the  franchise  ;  and 
the  only  enduring  or  worthy  education  in  self-govern- 
ment, and  the  government  of  the  nation,  the  only  guide 
for  voters  which  is  never  out  of  date,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.     The 

N  177 


178  IN  THE  NATION  AND   THE   STATE 

Bible  everywhere  honours  patriotism,  and  puts  the  love 
of  the  fatherland  next  to  the  love  of  God  and  the  love 
of  the  home.  Bible  Christians  always  seek  to  make 
the  nation  a  nation  of  saints,  fearing  God  and  having 
no  other  fear.  There  is  no  real  toleration  among  the 
indifferent.  The  Agnostic  can  be,  and  has  been,  a 
persecutor.  It  is  only  those  who  have  entered  into 
their  birthright  as  free,  who  have  the  Bible  respect  for 
the  rights  of  all  men  as  made  for  God,  and  as  incapable 
of  doing  their  true  work  or  finding  their  rightful  place 
except  in  His  service. 

From  the  very  first  the  spread  of  the  Authorized 
Version  made  for  progress  and  freedom.  It  was  the 
study  of  the  English  Bible  which  in  a  single  generation 
raised  so  many  in  the  seventeenth  century  from  the 
puerilities,  superstitions,  and  prejudices  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  made  them  strong,  far-seeing  men  ;  and  tender, 
heroic  women.  It  raised  the  nation  at  one  bound  to 
the  foremost  place  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  and 
more  than  aught  else  has  kept  it  there  ever  since.  The 
only  enduring  national  prosperity  is  that  which  is  based 
on  loyalty  and  obedience  to  the  Word  of  God.  Piety 
which  is  nourished  on  manuals  of  devotion  and  the  lives 
of  the  saints  is  of  the  hothouse  order.  It  is  those  alone 
who  are  nourished  on  the  Bible  who  can  stand  the 
storm  and  flourish  in  the  open  air.  It  is  they  who 
become  explorers  and  reformers,  colonists  and  pioneers 
of  Empire  and  the  truth. 

It  may  be  true  that  the  Puritans,  for  whom  the  Bible 
did  so  much,  sometimes  made  a  questionable  use  of 
it.  They  did  not  always  study  it  historically,  as  when 
they  applied  Old  Testament  teaching  about  exterminating 
the  Canaanites  and  Amalekites  to  their  own  times,  and 
overlooked  the  later  revelation  of  the  New  Testament. 
Nor  did  they  always  study  it  with  a  due  sense  of  pro- 
portion, as  when  they  found  more  in  it  about  predestina- 
tion and  God's  wrath  than  about  infinite  love  and  the 
free  offer  of  the  great  salvation.  Some  of  them  were 
arbitrary,  too,  in  their  treatment  of  the  letter  of 
Scripture,  and  in  their  mystical  use  of  its  prophecies 
and  types.     But  they  never  made  too  much  of  it  ;    ancj 


THE  PURITANS  179 

the  more  they  made  of  it,  the  more  it  made  of  them. 
They  and  their  kindred  in  other  lands  saved  the  sacred 
cause   of  civil   and   religious   freedom  in  the   dark  days 
of  reaction  in  the  Church  and  of  absolutism  in  the  State. 
They  took  their  Bibles  with  them  to  the  market-place  and 
to  the  workshop,  and  bought  and  sold  with  its  words  on 
their   lips   and   in   their   hearts.      It   was   their   guide   in 
every  part  of  their  life  ;  and  when  duty  called  them  to  take 
up    arms,   they    charged   the    enemy   with    the   sword   of 
the    Lord   and   of    Gideon    in   their   hands,    and    singing 
David's  psalms.     It  made  men  like  Faithful  and  Great- 
heart  and  Gaius  ;    and  women  like  Mercy  and  Christiana. 
'  In  the  poetry  of  Milton,  in  the  mental  history  of  Bunyan,' 
says    Prothero,    '  the    power    of   the    Psalms    is    strongly 
marked.     Their  influence  is  still  more  clearly  seen  in 
the  career  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  foremost  figure  in 
the  stirring  times  of  the  Puritan  revolution,  the  strongest 
type    of    the    stern    religion    which    raised    him    to    the 
summit  of  fame  and  fortune.     The  spirit  that  he  read 
into  the  Psalms  governed  his  actions  at  each  supreme 
crisis   of   his   stormy   life  ;     the  last   striking   stages   in 
his  career  are  marked  by  quotations  from  the  Psalms  ; 
in     his     private     letters,     his     public     despatches,     his 
addresses   to   Parliament,   the   imagery,   metaphors,   and 
language    of   the    Psalms    drop    from    his    lips,    or    his 
pen,   as   if  by   constant   meditation  he   had  made  their 
phraseology  a  part  of  his  very  life.' 
Through     Civil    War    and    revolution,     through    far- 
reaching  reform  and  peaceful  expansion,  through  agony 
and  toil,   through  reaction  and  temporary  defeat,   there 
has  arisen  an  Empire  on  which  the  sun  never  sets,  as 
well  as  the  great  Republic  of  the  West,  out  of  what  was 
once  a  kingdom  of  very  limited  resources.     And  in  all 
that    is   best   in   this    development,    and    in   the    changes 
which    the    years    have    wrought,    the    Bible    has    played 
its  part,  and  has  been  the  true  strength  and  inspiration 
of  an   Imperial  people,   seeking  to  work  out   its   destiny 
in   freedom  and  faith.      This   is  freely   admitted  by  the 
ordinary    historian,    as    well   as    by   those    who    write    in 
praise    of   the   Word.      In    161 1    one   of   the   most   out- 
standing features  of  the  political  situation  was  the  power, 


i8o  IN  THE  NATION  AND   THE  STATE 

and,  even  more,  the  prestige,  of  Spain.  King  James 
could  never  get  away  from  his  instinctive  reverence  for 
it  ;  ahhough,  as  events  were  to  show,  it  was  far  from 
being  as  great  as  it  was  supposed  to  be,  or  had  once 
been.  Once  and  again  he  exposed  himself  to  needless 
humiliation,  and  risked  the  indignation  and  anger  of 
his  own  people  in  his  desire  to  secure  a  Spanish  alliance 
for  his  son  ;  like  some  poor  relation  determined  to 
win  the  recognition  of  a  relative  of  overwhelming  influ- 
ence and  wealth.  Even  Oliver  Cromwell,  with  all  his 
wondrous  insight,  could  never  free  himself  from  the  feel- 
ing that  Spain  was  still  the  foe  to  be  mainly  feared.  But 
to-day  the  position  is  wholly  changed.  Spain  has  been 
stripped  of  her  colonial  v/ealth.  Treasure  galleons  no 
longer  seek  her  harbours  laden  with  the  riches  of  the 
New  World.  There  is  now  none  so  poor  to  do  her 
reverence.  To  compare  her  in  any  respect  with  Britain 
only  serves  to  accentuate  the  fact  that  the  one  is  as 
poor  and  weak  as  the  other  is  rich  and  powerful.  And 
more  than  anything  else,  it  is  her  English  Bible,  and 
what  grows  out  of  it,  that  has  made  Britain  prosperous 
and  great  and  free  ;  just  as  the  want  of  such  a  national 
treasure  has  not  only  led  to  Spain  losing  her  liberties 
and  her  political  power,  but  has  robbed  her  in  connec- 
tion with  literature  and  art  as  well.  For  want  of  the 
Bible  she  has  been  left  in  superstition  and  degradation, 
the  prey  of  unscrupulous  ecclesiastics,  incapable  states- 
men,  and  unbelieving  agitators. 

Lord  Macaulay  tells  in  his  history  how  James  the 
Second  at  his  coronation  ordered  Sancroft,  the  Arch- 
bishop, to  abridge  the  ritual.  The  reason  publicly 
assigned  for  this  was  that  the  day  was  too  short  for 
all  that  was  to  be  done  ;  but  the  real  reason  was  that 
the  King  wished  to  remove  certain  things  which  were 
highly  offensive  to  him  as  a  zealous  Romanist.  In 
particular,  says  the  historian,  the  ceremony  of  present- 
ing the  sovereign  with  a  richly-bound  copy  of  the 
English  Bible,  and  of  exhorting  him  to  prize  above 
all  earthly  treasure  a  volume  which  he  had  been  taught 
to  regard  as  adulterated  with  false  doctrines,  was 
omitted.     That  was  most   significant  of  much  that  wag 


THE  BIBLE  BANISHED  i8i 

impending,  both  as  regards  the  conflict  for  freedom 
and  as  regards  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  King  himself. 
Such  schemes  as  those  of  that  priest-ridden  yet  im- 
moral monarch  perish  when  the  English  Bible  gets  its 
due  place,  like  some  foul  fungus  which  cannot  abide 
the  light.  The  teaching  of  history  clearly  is  that  it  was 
more  than  a  mere  coincidence  that  this  King  who  set 
the  Bible  aside  was  himself  set  aside.  He  would  fain 
have  banished  it  from  the  realm,  and  he  himself  was 
driven  out  ;  while  there  lay  before  it  in  the  days  to 
come  a  career  of  usefulness  and  influence  such  as  can 
never  have  entered  then  into  the  imagination  either  of 
its  friends  or  its  foes. 

So  long  as  the  Bible  was  honoured  and  prized  in  the 
land,  whether  under  Cromwell  or  William,  not  only  were 
the  rights  of  man  respected  at  home,  but  the  nation 
was  respected  abroad.  But  under  Charles  the  Second, 
when  the  Bible  was  flouted  and  despised,  not  only  did 
persecution  and  tyranny  abound  in  the  homelands,  but 
for  the  first  and  last  time  in  our  history  foreign  guns 
were  heard  in  the  Thames,  and  the  voluptuous  monarch 
was  the  pensioner  of  France.  As  for  his  royal  brother, 
who  attempted  to  banish  the  Bible  which  owed  its 
translation  to  his  grandfather,  there  was  nothing  but 
ever -deepening  degradation,  until  at  last  he  was  driven 
for  ever  from  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  Oliver 
Cromwell's  was  the  Bible -born  Imperialism  which, 
according  to  Macaulay,  '  arrested  the  sails  of  the  Libyan 
'  pirates  and  the  persecuting  fires  of  Rome.'  He 
dictated  terms  to  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  the  Duke  of 
Tuscany,  and  the  tyrants  of  Tunis  and  Algiers.  He 
lowered  the  proud  flag  of  Spain  before  which  so  many 
had  cowered  so  long.  It  was  his  ambition  to  make 
the  name  of  England  as  great  as  that  of  Rome  had  been 
in  her  palmiest  days,  and  as  much  honoured  ;  and  men 
never  knew  how.  truly  he  had  done  this,  nor  what  was 
the  source  of  his  inspiration,  until  he  was  gone.  '  Then,' 
said  Pepys,  '  it  is  strange  how  everybody  do  nowadays 
'  reflect  upon  Oliver,  and  commend  him,  what  brave 
*  things  he  did  and  made  all  the  neighbours  fear  him, 
'  while   here   a   prince,    come   in   with   all   the    love   and 


i82  IN  THE  NATION  AND   THE  STATE 

'  prayers  and  good  liking  of  his  people,  hath  lost  it 
'  so  soon,  that  it  is  a  miracle  what  way  a  man  could 
*  devise  to  lose  so  much  in  so  little  time.' 

It  was  no  Jingoism  or  mere  earth-hunger  that  made 
Cromwell  great.  It  was  the  true  Imperialism  born  of 
the  study  of  his  Bible,  and  the  determination  to  uphold 
the  glory  of  the  flag  by  making  it  the  synonym  for 
righteousness,  the  messenger  of  help  for  God's  oppressed 
ones  all  over  the  earth.  His  was  never  the  mailed  fist 
of  the  bully,  but  the  long  arm  of  the  champion  of 
liberty,  toleration,  and  truth.  And  whatever  else  the 
spread  of  the  British  Empire  may  have  meant  ;  in  so 
far  as  it  has  set  the  slave  free  and  brought  liberty 
to  the  captive,  as  it  has  so  often  done,  and  in  so  far 
as  it  has  brought  the  peace  of  God  to  those  who  were 
for  ever  embroiled  in  petty  wars,  and  that  also  it  has 
often  done  ;  it  has  been  inspired  by  the  English  Bible 
as  it  has  influenced  countless  homes  all  over  the  land, 
and  filled  many  hearts  with  its  passion  for  justice  and 
its  own  hatred  of  oppression.  More  than  that,  the  most 
outstanding  of  our  great  Pro-Consuls,  of  those  who  have 
helped  to  build  up  an  imperial  power  which,  with  all  its 
failings,  is  the  greatest  engine  of  progress  the  world 
has  ever  known,  have  been  men  who  were  not  ashamed 
to  acknowledge  that  the  Bible  was  their  daily  guide, 
and  that  they  owed  to  it  all  they  had  and  all  they  were. 
If  from  the  Empire's  roll-call  of  its  explorers  and 
pioneers,  its  statesmen  and  leaders,  the  names  of  those 
who  were  Bible -students  were  removed,  the  list  left  would 
be  a  very  attenuated  and  impoverished  one.  If  the 
Bible  itself  were  removed  from  the  national  record,  there 
would  be  little  left  which  would  be  worth  recording. 

It  is  character  that  tells  alike  in  Empire -building  and 
trade  expansion  ;  and  nothing  has  made  for  high 
character  and  the  saving  sense  of  fair-play  among  our 
pioneers  of  Empire  and  trade  like  the  influence,  direct 
and  indirect,  of  the  Bible  among  the  people.  It  is  part 
of  the  national  mind,  and  the  anchor  of  the  national 
seriousness.  Its  stories  and  teachings,  its  whole  atmo- 
sphere and  spirit,  have  been  the  subsoil  in  which  the 
plant    of   honour   has    taken    deepest    root,    and    out    of 


BIBLE  RELIGION  183 

which  it  grows  in  its  purest  and  most  enduring  forms. 
It  affects  even  those  who  themselves  are  not  readers 
of  the  Bible  ;  and  does  more  even  than  the  Navy  to 
make  the  Empire  secure  and  strong.  It  is  to  the  sense 
of  honour,  and  the  Bible-begotten  sense  of  justice  and 
fair -play,  that  the  British  Raj  in  India  and  elsewhere 
owes  its  continuance,  that  the  word  '  character  '  has  been 
naturalized  in  Japan,  and  that  there  are  lands  where 
the  oath  by  the  '  Anglesa  parole,'  the  word  of  an 
Englishman,  is  the  most  convincing  of  all.  The  Bible 
has  done  more  than  aught  else  ;  more  than  the  flag, 
more  than  our  trade,  more  than  the  Pax  Britannica, 
more  than  the  colonizing  instincts  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race,  more  than  the  Navy  League,  more  than  the  British 
gift  of  governing  subject  races  wisely  and  well,  to  bind 
the  scattered  branches  of  the  English-speaking  peoples 
into  one  great  homogeneous  community  which  stands 
for   justice  and  freedom,   for  progress  and  peace. 

One  who  was  a  man  of  keen  insight  and  a  subtle 
observer,  although  he  drifted  out  of  the  way  himself, 
the  late  Cardinal  Newman,  had  a  vivid  perception  of 
this  character -building  influence  of  the  Authorized 
Version  ;  and  his  testimony  is  all  the  more  valuable 
that    in    later    years    he    was    so    largely    an    outsider. 

*  Bible  religion,'  he  said,  '  is  both  the  recognized  title 
'and  the  best  description  of  English  religion.     It  con- 

*  sists,  not  in  rites  and  creeds,  but  mainly  in  having 
'  the  Bible  read  in  Church,  in  the  family,  and  in  private. 

*  Now  I  am  far  indeed  from  undervaluing  that  mere 
'  knowledge  of  Scripture  which  is  imparted  to  the 
'  population  thus  promiscuously.  At  least  in  England, 
'  it  has  to  a  certain  point  made  up  for  great  and  grievous 
'  losses  in  its  Christianity.  The  reiteration  again  and 
'  again,  in  fixed  course  in  the  public  service,  of  the 
'  words  of  inspired  teachers  under  both  Covenants,  and 

*  that  in  grave,  majestic  English,  has  in  matter  of  fact 

*  been  to  our  people  a  vast  benefit.  It  has  attuned 
'  their  minds  to  religious  thoughts  ;  it  has  given  them 
'a  high  moral  standard  ;  it  has  served  them  in 
'  associating    religion    with    compositions    which,     even 

*  humanly  considered,  are  among  the  most  sublime  and 


1 84  IN  THE  NATION  AND  THE  STATE 

'  beautiful  ever  written  ;  especially,  it  has  impressed  upon 
*  them  a  series  of  Divine  providences  in  behalf  of  man 
'  from  his  creation  to  his  end,  and,  above  all,  the  words, 
'  deeds,  and  sacred  sufferings  of  Him  in  whom  all  the 
'  providences   of  God   centre.' 

How  far  the  English  Bible  has  inspired  those  who 
have  done  most  for  the  nation,  by  doing  battle  with 
slavery  and  corruption,  ignorance  and  disease,  with  the 
opium  trade,  and  the  traffic  in  strong  drink  among  the 
native  races,  can  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  the  work 
of  noble  Christian  patriots  like  Wilberforce  and  Granville 
Sharp,  Robert  Raikes,  John  Howard,  and  Elizabeth  Fry. 
God's  Word  illumined  them  and  many  others  like  them 
since,  and  guided  them  into  large  and  gracious  con- 
ceptions and  deeds.  It  let  them  see  that  patriotism 
does  not  consist  in  waving  the  flag,  and  still  less  in 
flouting  other  flags.  It  consists  in  keeping  the  escutcheon 
of  the  nation  clean  ;  in  delivering  the  land  from  the 
foul  blots  of  cruelty,  drunkenness,  and  lust,  oppression, 
injustice,  and  hunger  ;  in  bringing  the  legislation  and 
administration  of  the  Empire  into  harmony  with  the 
mind  of  God  ;  in  giving  every  citizen  cause  to  love  the 
fatherland,  so  that  the  cry  '  For  altar  and  hearth  '  will 
be  a  mockery  for  none  ;  and  for  all  that,  nothing  has 
been  so  fruitful  as  the  circulation  and  spread  of  the 
Bible,  and  just  in  proportion  as  it  dominates  and 
sanctifies  the  life  and  thought  of  our  time  will  the  nation 
be  truly  prosperous  and  great  and  free.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  a  nation  of  those  who  study  and  love 
the  Scriptures  need  fear  no  foe,  so  wise  and  far-seeing, 
so  strong  and  clean,  will  it  make  them  ;  and  so  truly 
will  it  bring  them  into  line  with  the  eternal  laws  of 
righteousness  which  rule  the  universe.  The  patriotism 
which  the  Bible  inspires  is  sane  and  healthy  and 
enduring  ;  and  just  because  it  is  Divinely  guided,  it 
respects  the  rights  of  others,  even  as  it  knows  how  to 
defend  its  own. 


Chapter  V 

INFLUENCE    ON    THE    ENGLISH    LANGUAGE 
AND   ENGLISH    LITERATURE 


185 


'  The  Scripture  affords  us  a  Divine  pastoral  in  the  Song  of  Solomon, 
consisting  of  two  persons  and  a  double  chorus,  as  Origen  rightly  judges  ; 
and  the  Apocalypse  of  St.  John  is  a  majestic  image  of  a  high  and  stately 
tragedy,  shutting  and  intermingling  her  solemn  scenes  and  acts  with  a 
seven-fold  chorus  of  hallelujahs  and  harping  symphonies.' — John  Milton. 


Chapter  V 

INFLUENCE    ON   THE    ENGLISH    LANGUAGE 
AND   ENGLISH   LITERATURE 

NEXT  to  the  wonderful  work  which  our  English  Bible 
has  done  in  the  home,  in  the  Church,  and  in  the 
nation,  nothing  is  more  remarkable  than  the  way  in 
which  it  has  guided  our  English  speech  and  inspired 
our  English  literature.  There  are  few  facts  connected 
with  literature  regarding  which  there  is  more  general 
agreement  than  that  the  Authorized  Version  is  a  master- 
piece of  English,  and  that  it  has  exercised  a  great  and 
beneficent  influence  on  the  development  of  the  English 
language.  '  As  a  mere  literary  monument,  the  English 
*  version  of  the  Bible  remains  the  noblest  example  of 
'the  English  tongue.'  Critics  of  all  schools,  who  agree 
about  hardly  anything  else,  are  agreed  that  it  is  the 
richest  repository  of  thought  and  imagery,  the  best  model 
of  pure  style,  which  the  language  possesses.  It  is  a 
library  rather  than  a  book.  It  has  something  in  it  for 
every  seeker  ;  something  for  every  pure  taste.  Its 
poetry  reaches  loftier  heights  and  fathoms  deeper 
depths  than  any  other.  Its  history  carries  us  further 
back,  and  takes  us  further  into  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  than  any  other.  It  lets  us  see  things  from! 
the  standpoint  of  God,  and  sub  specie  aeternitatis . 

Our  English  Bible  must  be  more  than  literature,  or 
it  is  nothing  ;  but  it  is  literature,  and  literature  at  its 
best .     Whatever  our  list  of   '  best  books  '  may  be,   the 

Bible  must  not  only  be  on  it,  but  unquestionably  first. 

187 


1 88  INFLUENCE  ON  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

'  It  is  God's  Book  as  no  other  book  can  be  ;  profit- 
*  able  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  and 
'  for  instruction  in  righteousness.'  But  apart  from  that, 
for  the  noblest  poetry  and  unique  history,  for  practical 
wisdom  and  helpful  guidance  through  the  mazes  of  life, 
and  for  a  portrait  gallery  of  truly  human  men  and 
women  such  as  can  be  found  nowhere  else,  it  is  the 
most  wonderful  combination  the  world  of  letters  has 
ever  seen.  The  moral  qualities  of  the  translators  influ- 
enced their  literary  work  all  through.  John  Milton  was 
no  mean  judge,  and  his  testimony  is  that  '  there  are  no 
songs  to  be  compared  with  the  songs  of  Zion  ;  no 
orations  equal  to  those  of  the  prophets  ;  and  no  politics 
like  those  which  the  Scriptures  teach.'  '  In  the  very 
critical  art  of  composition,  it  may  be  easily  made  appear 
over  all  kinds  of  lyrical  poesy  to  be  incomparable.' 
The  place  occupied  by  the  English  Bible  in  English 
literature  is  as  unique  as  the  place  of  the  Bible  itself 
in  the  literature  of  the  race.  As  Caedmon's  paraphrases 
were  the  first  true  English  poetry  ;  as  Bede,  the  translator 
of  St.  John,  was  the  first  writer  of  Old  English  prose  ;. 
as  Wiclif,  who  first  gave  the  whole  Bible  to  the  English 
nation,  may  be  regarded  as  the  Father  of  modern  English 
prose  in  virtue  of  the  clear,  homely  English  of  his 
translation  ;  and  as  Luther's  German  version  was  the 
book  which  did  most  to  fix  the  German  language  and 
guide  it  into  the  grooves  in  which  it  has  moved  ever 
since — so  it  has  been  both  as  regards  language  and 
literature  with  the  Authorized  Version.  Ever  since  it 
appeared  it  has  dominated,  and  in  a  sense  hallowed, 
all  English  speech  and  writing.  This  is  not  the  testi- 
mony of  enthusiasts  for  the  Bible  only,  but  of  literary 
and  linguistic  experts.  As  Professor  Sweet  says  :  '  The 
'  publication  of  Tindale's  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
'  ment,  in  1525,  paved  the  way  for  the  Authorized 
'Version  of  161 1,  which  made  Early  Modern  English 
'  what  it  has  ever  since  been  .  .  .  the  sacred  or 
'  liturgical  language  of  the  whole  English-speaking  race.' 
Mr.  Green,  too,  speaks  eloquently  of  the  conspicuous 
influence  which  from  the  first  it  exerted  on  ordinary 
speech.      '  The   mass   of  picturesque   allusion  and  illus- 


BEYOND   THE  SEAS  i8g 

*  tration   which  we  borrow   from  a  thousand  books,   our 

*  fathers    were    forced    to    borrow    from    one  ;     and    the 

*  borrowing  was  all  the  easier  and  the  more  natural 
'  that  the  range  of  the  Hebrew  literature  fitted  it  for 
'the  expression  of  every  phase  of  feeling.'  'Even  to 
'  common  minds  this  familiarity  with  grand  poetic 
'  imagery  in  prophet  and  apocalypse  gave  a  loftiness 
'  and  ardour  of  expression,  that  with  all  its  tendency  to 

*  exaggeration  and  bombast  we  may  prefer  to  the 
'  slipshod   vulgarisms   of  the    shopkeeper   of   to-day.' 

On  all  hands  it  is  agreed  that  throughout  the  more 
modern  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  no  book  has 
had  so  great  an  influence  on  the  standard  of  English 
literature  wherever  the  language  prevails,  and  on  the 
vocabulary  and  style  of  English  writers  generally,  as 
the  Authorized  Version  of  the  English  Bible.  It  has 
gone  with  the  emigrant  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  to  fix 
the  standard  and  preserve  the  purity  of  the  language 
and  the  integrity  of  its  literature  in  the  Greater  Britain 
beyond  the  seas.  It  went  with  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  to 
New  England,  with  the  result  that  even  when  the  great 
Republic  of  the  West  was  sundered  from  the  Empire, 
it  remained  loyal  to  the  mother-tongue,  and  to  all  which 
that  involves.  Nowhere  is  there  more  enthusiasm  for 
the  English  classics,  or  a  greater  determination  to  claim 
a  share  in  the  inheritance  of  letters,  than  among  those 
who  are  furthest  from  the  homeland,  and  nowhere 
is  there  a  deeper  interest  in  the  English  Bible  than 
there.  Nor  can  anyone  enter  with  understanding 
and  sympathy  into  the  treasures  of  that  vast  and 
ever-growing  inheritance  ;  whether  he  dwells  in 
the  Old  World  or  the  New,  beneath  the  Southern 
Cross,  in  the  wheat-lands  of  Saskatchewan,  or  on  the 
lonely  South  African  veldt,  unless  he  has  some  acquaint- 
ance with  the  English  Bible,  so  much  has  it  entered 
into  the  very  texture  of  all  that  is  best  in  our  national 
literature  in  all  its  branches.  It  requires  but  a  brief 
examination  of  authors  so  different  as  Shakespeare  and 
Milton,  Scott  and  Carlyle,  Browning,  Ruskin,  and  Tenny- 
son, to  show  that  it  is  not  merely  that  Scripture  is  often 
quoted  and  alluded  to,   but  that  its   words  and  images 


I90  INFLUENCE  ON  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

have  entered  into  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  the  cloth 
of  gold  which  they  have  woven  for  the  generations 
which  follow  after.  To  be  ignorant  of  the  Bible  is  to 
lack  the  key  of  the  treasury  alike  in  literature  and  grace. 

As  the  result  of  his  experience  as  an  Inspector  of 
primary  schools,  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold  said  that  the 
English  Bible  introduces  the  only  element  of  true  poetry, 
the  one  elevating  and  inspiring  element  that  enters  into 
the  education  of  multitudes  in  our  land.  The  protest 
against  excluding  it  from  our  schools  has  come  from 
every  quarter.  It  reaches  every  class,  and  influences 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  as  nothing  else  in 
literature  can.  Books  are  the  true  levellers,  and  the 
Bible  is  the  truest  leveller  of  all  ;  always  levelling  up, 
however,  rather  than  down.  Just  as  gunpowder  put  the 
man-at-arms  in  his  leather  jerkin  on  a  level  with  the 
knight  in  his  armour  of  steel,  the  printing-press  has 
brought  the  Bible  to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich, 
to  the  uncultured  as  well  as  to  the  learned.  In  its 
sacred  simplicity  and  Divine  depth  it  appeals  to  yearnings 
and  satisfies  needs  which  are  common  to  every  class.  It 
is  the  great  conciliatory,  uniting  force  amid  so  much 
that  makes  for  antagonism  and  disruption.  It  is  to 
be  found  on  the  castle  table  and  in  the  cottage  of  the 
working  man  ;  and  it  speaks  the  same  message  to  every 
home  in  which  it  is  read.  It  is  read  by  peasant  and 
prince,  by  mill -girl  and  countess,  in  Eton  and  Harrow 
and  in  Board  Schools,  in  the  Universities  and  the  Boys' 
Brigade.  Of  the  six  thousand  words  in  the  Authorized 
Version,  not  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  are  not  in 
common  use  ;  and  that  is  largely  because  it  has  set  the 
standard,  created  the  taste,  and  been  as  an  Academy 
of  Letters  in  the  land. 

All  that  this  means  is  seldom  seen  to  be  as  wonderful 
as  it  is,  or  even  realized,  because  it  has  always  been 
such  an  outstanding  fact  in  our  lives.  The  Bible  as 
we  have  known  it  since  ever  we  knew  anything,  speaks 
to  the  simplest  as  well  as  to  the  most  thoughtful,  to 
the  busy  worker  and  the  student  recluse,  to  those  who 
are  just  setting  out  on  the  pathway  of  life  and  to  those 
who  are  putting  their  armour  off  ;    and  speaks  to  them 


INEXHAUSTIBLE  DEPTHS  191 

all  alike  vviih  authority,  dignity,  and  power.  The  most 
profound  cannot  fathom  its  depths,  while  the  simple- 
hearted  get  all  they  need  or  can  carry  away  ;  and  how- 
ever far-reaching  its  philosophy  may  be,  it  never  ceases 
to  be  the  book  of  the  many,  yea,  of  the  all.  It  is  said  to 
be  one  of  the  most  severe  tests  that  can  be  applied 
to  a  book,  that  those  who  read  it  with  enjoyment  when 
they  are  young  should  be  able  to  enjoy  it  as  much 
when  they  are  old.  It  often  happens  that  when  books 
are  re-read  in  these  circumstances,  their  readers  are 
puzzled  to  think  what  they  can  ever  have  found  in  them, 
they  now  seem  so  superficial  and  commonplace.  But 
not  only  docs  the  Bible  stand  this  test  and  even  invite 
it,  the  witness  of  multitudes  of  the  wisest  and  best,  of 
all  ranks  and  classes,  is  that  they  never  read  even  those 
parts  of  it  with  which  they  are  most  familiar  without 
discovering  new  beauties,  coming  under  its  power  more 
than  ever,  and  finding  in  their  own  blessed  experience 
that  the  half  had  not  been  told  of  its  wonders,  and 
never  can  be  told. 

In  other  references  to  the  worth  of  Scripture,  we 
can  listen  only  to  those  for  whom  the  Bible  is  more 
than  literature,  for  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them 
that  fear  Him,  and  spiritual  things  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned ;  but  in  regard  to  its  value  for  the  language 
and  for  literature,  the  testimonies  of  ordinary  men  of 
letters  may  fairly  be  adduced  ;  and  these  are  very  many 
and  very  varied  in  character.  '  I  am  heartily  glad,' 
said  Landor,  '  to  witness  your  veneration  for  a  Book 
'  which,  to  say  nothing  of  its  holiness  or  authority,  con- 
'  tains  more  specimens  of  genius  and  taste  than  any 
'  otiicr  volume  in  existence.'  '  No  translation  our  own 
'  country  ever  yet  produced,'  said  Swift,  '  hath  come  up 
'  to  that  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  ;  and  I  am 
'  persuaded  that  the  translators  of  the  Bible  were  masters 
*  of  an  English  style  much  fitter  for  that  work  than 
'  any  we  see  in  our  present  writings  ;  the  which  is 
'  owing  to  the  simplicity  which  runs  through  the  whole.' 
'  The  most  learned,  acute,  and  diligent  student,'  said  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  '  cannot,  in  the  longest  life,  obtain  an 
■  entire  knowledge  of  this  one  volume.     The  more  deeply 


192  INFLUENCE  ON  LANGUAGE  AND  LITERATURE 

*  he  works  the  mine,  the  richer  and  more  abundant  he 

*  finds  the  ore  ;    new  light  continually  beams  from  this 

*  source  of  heavenly  knowledge,  to  direct  the  conduct 
'  and  illustrate  the  work  of  God  and  the  ways  of  men  ; 

*  and  he  will  at  last  leave  the  world  confessing  that  the 
'  more   he   studied   the   Scriptures,   the   fuller   conviction 

*  he  had  of  his  own  ignorance,  and  of  their  inestimable 
'  value.'  When  he  was  near  the  end  of  his  life.  Dr. 
Johnson   said  :     '  I   hope  to   read  the   whole   Bible   once 

*  every  year,  as  long  as  I  live.    ...   I  devoted  this  week 

*  to  the  perusal  of  the  Bible,  and  have  done  little  secular 
'business.'     'The  Bible  throughly  known,'  said  Froude, 

*  is  a  literature  in  itself  .  .  .  the  rarest  and  richest  in 
'  all  departments  of  thought  or  imagination  which  exists.* 
'  At  the  time  when  that  odious  style,'  said  Macaulay, 
'  which  deforms  the  writings  of  Hall  and  Lord  Bacon, 
'  was  almost  universal,  appeared  that  stupendous  work, 
'  the  English  Bible  ;  .  .  .  a  book  which  if  everything 
'  else  in  our  language  should  perish,  would  alone  suffice 

*  to  show  the  whole  extent  of  its  beauty  and  power. 
'  The  respect  which  the  translators  felt  for  the  original, 

*  prevented  them  from  adding  any  of  the  hideous  decora- 
'  tions  then  in  fashion.  The  groundwork  of  the  version, 
'indeed,  was  of  an  earlier  age.' 

The  Authorized  Version  has  often  been  called  a  well 
of  English  undefiled,  and  much  of  its  purity  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  its  water  was  drawn  from  the  ancient 
springs.  It  has  the  universal  note  which  gives  it  a 
place  among  the  immortals.  It  has  the  Divine  touch, 
even  in  its  diction,  which  lifts  it  above  the  limitations 
of  locality  and  time,  and  makes  it  valid  and  living  for 
all  the  ages.  Like  a  rare  jewel  fitly  set,  the  sacred 
truths  of  Scripture  have  found  such  suitable  expres- 
sion in  it,  that  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  they  filled 
those  who  made  it  with  reverence  and  awe,  so  that 
they   walked   softly   in   the    Holy   Presence. 


Chapter  VI 

SOME    FAMOUS    EDITIONS    OF    THE    AUTHORIZED 

VERSION 


193 


This  book  of  stars  lights  to  eternal  bliss.' — George  Herbert. 


Chapter  VI 

SOME  FAMOUS  EDITIONS  OF  THE  AUTHORIZED 

VERSION 

O  OME  of  the  famous  editions  have  already  been  re- 
O  ferred  to  incidentally,  and  only  a  few  of  the  others 
can  now  be  enumerated.  The  first  two  editions  issued 
by  the  Cambridge  University  Press,  which  were  also  the 
first  issued  by  others  than  the  King's  printers,  are  of  great 
interest.  The  former  of  these  appeared  in  1629,  and 
was  printed  by  Thomas  and  John  Buck  ;  the  latter 
in  1638,  printed  by  Thomas  Buck  and  Roger  Daniel. 
The  1629  edition  bore  traces  of  the  most  careful 
revision  of  the  text,  the  italics,  and  the  margin,  by 
unknown  hands  ;  and  in  the  1638  edition  this  revision  was 
more  carefully  and  consistently  carried  out  by  the  scholars 
Goad,  Ward,  Boyse,  and  Mead.  According  to  Mr.  Dore, 
the  latter  is  probably  the  best  edition  of  King  James's 
Version  ever  published  ;  although  Dr.  Scrivener  would 
probably  claim  that  honour  for  the  Cambridge  issue  of 
1858,  which  he  employed  as  the  model  or  standard 
copy.  The  edition  of  1638  is  the  Bible  referred  to  by 
Scott  in  Red  gauntlet,  where  he  tells  of  a  lady  in  Edin- 
burgh in  reduced  circumstances,  who,  although  she  lived 
in  a  room  *  on  the  head  of  the  highest  stair  ^n  the 
'  Covenant  Close,'  '  never  read  a  chapter  except  out  of 
'  the  Cambridge  Bible  printed  by  Daniel,  and  bound  in 
'  embroidered  velvet.' 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  evident  care  which  was  taken 
to  correct  and  avoid  errors,  each  of  these  editions  gave 
birth   to   errors   which  became   notorious,   and  persisted 

195 


196  SOME  FAMOUS  EDITIONS 

through  many  subsequent  issues.  That  of  1629  made 
I  Tim.  4.  16  read,  '  Take  heed  to  thy  doctrine,'  instead 
of  'Take  heed  to  the  doctrine.'  That  of  1638  put 
'  ye  '  instead  of  '  we  '  in  Acts  6.3,'  whom  ye  may 
'  appoint  '  ;  an  error  which  was  falsely  imputed  to  eccle- 
siastical bias,  and  gave  rise  to  much  recrimination.  The 
former  error  kept  its  place  down  to  1762,  and  the  latter 
at  least  as  late  as    1682. 

In  modern  times  there  have  also  been  famous  editions 
which  deserve  mention .  The  Cambridge  Paragraph  Bible 
of  1873  has  been  generally  recognized  as  the  first  serious 
attempt  to  construct  a  critical  edition  of  the  Authorized 
Version.  The  Variorum  Bible  of  Messrs.  Eyre  and 
Spottiswoode,  1876  and  1888,  provides  a  digest  of  the 
best  accredited  various  readings  and  renderings  of  the 
text,  in  footnotes  for  the  English  reader  ;  and  so  far 
as  results  go  puts  him  practically  on  a  level  with  the 
classical  scholar.  Bagster's  editions  of  the  Bible,  too, 
are  monuments  of  minute  and  unpretending  diligence. 
As  for  the  splendid  series  of  issues  from  the  Oxford 
University  Press,  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly  of  the 
service  they  have  rendered  to  the  sacred  cause  of  Bible 
study.  They  have  come  as  near  perfection  as  human  skill 
can  come  ;  and  all  the  resources  of  the  paper-maker, 
bookbinder,  and  printer,  at  their  best,  have  been  freely 
lavished  on  their  preparation  and  embellishment.  It 
is  now  (191 1 )  two  hundred  and  thirty -six  years  since 
the  Authorized  Version  was  first  published  by  the  Oxford 
Press,  and  now  there  are  a  hundred  editions  of  the 
Oxford  Bible.  Nor  is  it  without  significance  that  jn 
spite  of  every  attack  on  the  Bible,  in  spite  even  of 
the  appearance  on  the  scene  of  the  Revised  Version, 
the  Oxford  record  is  one  of  continuous  growth.  In 
1875  half  a  inillion  of  copies  of  these  Bibles  in  the 
Authorized  Version  were  sold,  and  in  1885  seven  hundred 
thousand.  In  1895  the  number  had  risen  to  a  million, 
while  ten  years  later  it  was  actually  one  million  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand. 

There  are  other  three  famous  editions  which  may 
further  be  referred  to,  inasmuch  as  they  exercised  an 
abiding   influence   on   all   subsequent    editions.       Bishop 


MARGINAL  DATES  i97 

Lloyd's  edition,  which  was  published  in  London  in  1701, 
is  memorable  as  the  first  to  contain  the  marginal  dates 
which  are  now  so  familiar.  They  were  taken  from 
Ussher's  Annates  veterls  et  novi  Testamenti,  and  are 
of  very  varying  value.  Some  of  them,  indeed,  are 
rather  startling  in  view  of  modern  discoveries.  They 
have  not  been  materially  amended  since  they  first 
appeared,  and  their  only  authority,  of  course,  is  that 
of  the  eminent  scholar  who  prepared  them  according 
to  the  light  he  had.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  now 
why  the  Authorized  Version  should  be  burdened,  and 
even  prejudiced,  by  what  is  no  real  part  of  it  as  such. 
Dr.  Paris's  edition  of  1762,  which  was  issued  from 
the  Cambridge  University  Press,  is  of  great  importance 
as  being  in  the  main  the  foundation  of  our  modern 
Bible.  Much  care  was  expended  on  it,  and  it  did  much 
to  bring  the  text,  the  marginal  annotations,  the  italics, 
and  the  textual  references  into  the  condition  in  which 
we  now  have  them.  It  had  no  real  circulation,  however, 
partly  because  a  large  portion  of  the  impression  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  partly  because  it  was  superseded 
by  Dr.  Blayney's  edition,  which  soon  followed. 

That  edition  was  published  in  1769  by  the  Oxford 
University  Press,  and  is  commonly  regarded  as  the 
standard  from  which  modern  Bibles  are  printed. 
Immense  pains  were  taken  with  the  marginal  refer- 
ences, over  thirty  thousand  new  references  being  intro- 
duced ;  some  of  them  very  misleading,  however,  as 
based  on  a  parallelism  in  the  English  where  there  is 
none  in  the  original.  Blayney  was  specially  proud  of 
his  new  chapter -headings,  but  that  part  of  his  work 
met  with  no  acceptance.  His  was  the  last  considerable 
effort  to  improve  the  ordinary  editions  of  Scripture  ; 
and,  like  that  of  Dr.  Paris,  to  whom  he  owed  more 
than  he  allowed,  his  work  is  a  monument  of  genuine 
industry  and  consecrated  zeal.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  extra- 
ordinary pains  which  he  took  to  avoid  new  errors  and 
correct  old  ones,  even  his  edition  was  far  from  faultless. 
In  1806,  as  many  as  116  errors  were  pointed  out  in 
it,  including  the  omission  of  a  whole  clause  in 
Rev.  .18.    22. 


198  SOME  FAMOUS  EDITIONS 

In  this  connection  also,  as  in  so  many  others  in  the 
history  of  the  Authorized  Version,  we  are  impressed  by 
the  host  of  loyal  workers  who  did  their  best  to  make 
it  as  perfect  as  it  could  be,  and  to  commend  it  to  the 
men  of  their  time.  Not  a  few  of  them  were  content 
to  do  their  arduous  work  out  of  sight,  satisfied  if  only 
they  could  thereby  serve  in  the  sacred  cause.  Scholars 
and  artizans,  those  who  were  experts  in  the  ancient 
tongues  and  those  who  were  experts  in  their  modern 
crafts,  joined  hands  in  the  great  and  often  toilsome 
endeavours . 


BOOK   IV 

THE    REVISION    OF    THE   AUTHORIZED 
VERSION 

Chapter  I 
UNAUTHORIZED   REVISIONS 


199 


'  The  pearl  is  of  great  price ;  but  even  the  casket  is  of  exquisite  beauty. 
The  sword  is  of  ethereal  temper,  and  nothing  cuts  so  keen  as  its  double 
edge  ;  but  there  are  jewels  on  the  hilt,  an  exquisite  inlaying  on  the  scabbard. 
The  shekels  are  of  the  purest  ore  ;  but  even  the  scrip  which  contains 
them  is  of  a  texture  more  curious  than  any  which  the  artists  of  earth 
can  fashion.  The  apples  are  gold,  but  even  the  basket  is  silver.' — Dr. 
James  Hamilton. 


BOOK    IV 

THE     REVISION    OF    THE    AUTHORIZED 

VERSION 

Chapter  I 
UNAUTHORIZED    REVISIONS 

WHAT  has  just  been  said  regarding  famous  issues 
shows  that  revision  has  been  going  on  from  the 
first.  Some  of  these  issues  are  famous  mainly  because 
of  the  extent  to  which  they  were  revisions.  It  has  always 
been  held  to  be  the  duty  of  Christian  scholars  to  make 
the  vernacular  Scriptures  as  representative  as  possible 
of  the  original  manuscripts.  God  must  get  our  best, 
and  those  who  read  His  Word  must  be  brought  as  near 
to  Him  as  possible.  That  grows  out  of  the  very  con- 
ception of  a  translation.  In  his  first  preface,  Tyndale 
laid  this  obligation  on  Bible  students,  that  '  if  they  per- 
'  ceive  in  any  place  that  the  version  has  not  attained 
*  unto  the  very  sense  of  the  tongue,  or  the  very  meaning 
'  of  Scripture,  or  to  have  given  the  right  English  word, 
'  that  they  should  put  to  their  hands  and  amend  it,  remem- 
'  bering  that  so  is  their  duty  to  do.' 

It  may  be  questioned,  however,  whether  individual 
printers  and  private  editors  are  at  liberty  to  undertake 
this  work  of  revision  ;  and  there  can  be  no  question  that 
it  has  sometimes  been  attempted  on  inadequate  grounds, 
and  done  in  foolish  and  even  grotesque  ways.  In  1768, 
for  example,  Dr.  Edward  Harwood  set  himself  to  translate 
the  New  Testament  *  with  freedom,  spirit,  and  elegance,' 


202  UNAUTHORIZED  REVISIONS 

and   gave   such    renderings   as    *  the   young   lady   is   not 

*  dead,'  in  Mark  5.  39  ;  and  '  A  gentleman  of  splendid 
'  family  and  opulent  fortune  had  two  sons  '  ;  '  The  indul- 
'  gent  father,  overcome  by  his  blandishments,  immediately, 
'divided  all  his  fortune  betwixt  them,'  in  Luke    15.    11, 

1 2 .  There  have  even  been  attempts  made  to  '  bowdlerize  ' 
the  Scriptures.  The  question  asked  by  Nicodemus  in 
John  3 .  4  has  been  refined  into  '  can  he  become  an  unborn 
'  infant  of  his  mother  a  second  time  ?  '  while  '  unchaste 

*  and  immodest  gratifications  '  has  been  offered  as  an 
improvement  on  '  chambering  and  wantonness  '  in  Romans 

13.  13.  It  might  not  be  out  of  place  to  remind  those 
who  like  that  sort  of  thing  of  the  testimony  of  one  of  the 
most  experienced  teachers  of  girls  in  Great  Britain  :  that 
she  has  never  known  the  frankness  of  Scripture  in  regard 
to  such  matters  do  anything  but  good  among  her  pupils, 
and  that  she  has  often  been  grateful  for  it. 

But  apart  from  such  eccentricities  and  follies,  an 
unauthorized  revision  of  the  Authorized  Version  has  been 
going  on  from  the  first  ;  and  as  far  back  as  1831  the 
public  attention  was  drawn,  by  Mr.  Curtis,  of  Islington, 
to  the  extent  to  which  all  modern  reprints  of  Holy 
Scripture  had  departed  from  the  original  edition  or 
editions  of  161 1.  He  declared  that  the  result  had  been 
the  great  deterioration  of  our  Vernacular  Translation  ; 
but  the  subsequent  publication  of  the  1 6 1 1  text  in  the 
Oxford  reprint  of  1833  virtually  vindicated  the  un- 
authorized revisions  which  had  been  made,  by  showing 
how  impossible  it  was  to  go  back  to  the  unrevised 
edition.  Not  only  so  ;  but  the  discovery  thus  made  of 
the  extent  to  which  the  epoch-making  work  of  King 
James's  scholars  had  been  patiently  and  reverently  brought 
into  a  more  consistent  and  presentable  shape  did  much 
to  strengthen  the  conviction  which  ultimately  led  to  the 
preparation  of  our  Revised  Version.  The  feeling  grew 
steadily,  until  for  many  it  was  overpowering,  that  it 
was  an  obvious  duty  to  bring  the  gains  of  two  centuries 
and  a  half  of  patient  consecrated  study  and  scholarly 
research  within  the  reach  of  all.  During  the  long  period 
in  which  the  Authorized  Version  had  been  pursuing  its 
career,  of  blessing  without  a  rival,  great  stores  of  Biblical 


LACK  OF  ACCURACY  203 

learning  had  been  accumulating,  and  the  capacity  of 
scholars  for  making  use  of  the  new  light  had  been  steadily 
growing,  and  it  was  felt  that  it  should  all  be  applied 
to  the  sacred  cause  of  Bible  translation.  All  the  while, 
however,   the   unauthorized   revision  was   going  on. 

The  fact  that  the  first  two  editions  in  161 1,  which 
had  been  issued  so  simultaneously  that  the  experts  are 
still  unable  to  agree  as  to  which,  if  either,  was  actually 
first,  differed  in  a  multitude  of  minute  details,  as  well  as 
in  some  matters  which  were  neither  minute  nor  details, 
made  it  inevitable  that  emendations  should  be  attempted  ; 
and  the  process  thus  begun  went  on  until  the  nineteenth 
century.  Only  those  who  take  the  trouble  to  compare 
an  edition  of  1 6 1 1  with  one  now  current  can  appreciate 
the  extent  to  which  this  work  of  emendation  was  carried 
on,  and  as  each  revised  edition  in  turn  perpetrated  its 
own  new  errors,  finality  was  not  easily  attained.  Some 
of  the  changes  made  were  external,  and  dealt  with  the 
marginal  notes,  and  references,  and  the  chapter  head- 
ings. Most  of  those,  too,  which  dealt  with  the  actual 
text  were  concerned  with  minute  matters  such  as  the 
employment  of  italics  and  the  punctuation,  and  the  spell- 
ing of  proper  names  ;  but  in  not  a  few  cases  the  actual 
meaning  was  affected,  although  the  worst  errors  of  that 
sort,  such  as  omitting  or  adding  the  powerful  word 
'  not,*  were  usually  too  obvious  to  do  much  mischief. 

Some  of  the  departures  from  the  original  editions  were 
due  to  blunders  on  the  part  of  printers  and  the  culpable 
carelessness  of  proof-readers  ;  and  until  as  recently  as 
1830  there  was  often  a  deplorable  lack  of  accuracy  and 
care.  As  early  as  1643,  the  Westminster  Assembly 
made  a  report  to  Parliament  on  the  subject  of  the  great 
number  of  errors  which  had  already  crept  into  the 
editions  then  in  use.  But  most  of  the  changes  were 
deliberately  made.  Of  the  first  fifty  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century  there  were  only  nine  which  witnessed 
no  attempt  at  revision.  Dr.  Scrivener,  who  made 
a  special  study  of  this  feature  of  the  history  of  the 
Authorized  Version,  and  has  compiled  a  list  of  changes 
which,  including  the  Apocrypha,  extends  to  twenty -three 
pages    of    his    deeply -interesting    volume    entitled,    The 


204  UNAUTHORIZED  REVISIONS 

Authorized  Version  of  the  English  Bible  of  1 6 1 1 ,  says 
that  while  some  of  the  differences  which  he  records 
must  be  imputed  to  oversight  and  negligence,  from 
which  no  work  of  man  is  entirely  free,  much  the  greater 
part  of  them  were  deliberate  changes,  introduced  silently 
and  without  authority  by  men  whose  very  names  are 
unknown.  All  the  material  differences  between  the  1611 
editions  and  the  Authorized  Version  as  it  is  now  in 
common  use  have  been  indicated  in  the  margin  of  the 
Parallel  Bible  of  1885,  with  both  Authorized  and  Revised 
Versions. 

Many  of  the  changes  which  have  been  made  at  one 
time  or  another,  and  have  been  adopted,  consist  in  such 
emendations  as  inserting  the  preposition  in  the  phrase 
'all  manner  leprosy  '  in  Lev.  14.  54,  and  elsewhere,  and 
making  it  read  '  all  manner  of  leprosy.'  In  other  cases  the 
definite  article  has  been  introduced,  so  that  we  now  have 
'  upon  the  earth  '  for  '  upon  earth  '  ;  'in  the  battle  '  for 
'  in  battle  '  ;  '  for  the  press  '  for  '  for  press  '  ;  and  '  Thou 
'  art  the  Christ  '  for  '  Thou  art  Christ.'  Among  the 
changes  in  the  Gospels  recorded  by  Dr.  Scrivener  are 
such  as  these  :  '■  The  word  of  Jesus,'  since  1762,  when  so 
many  emendations  were  made,  for  *  the  words  of  Jesus,' 
in   Matt.    26.    75  ;     'He   ran  and   worshipped'   for   'he 

-  came  and  worshipped,'  since  1638  in  Mark  5.6;'  There 

-  is  none  good  but  one,'  since  1638  for  '  there  is  no  man 
*  good,  but  one,'  in  Mark  10.  18  ;  'a  son  of  Abraham  ' 
for  'the  son  of  Abraham,'  since  1762  in  Luke  19.  9  ; 
'  at  nought  '  for  *  at  naught,'  since  1638  in  Luke  23.  11  ; 
'than  his  Lord*  for  -than  the  Lord,'  since  1762 
in  John  15.  20  ;  '  because  he  not  only,'  since  1629  for 
'  not  only  because  he  '  in  John  5 .   18. 

Such  changes  as  -  godly  edifying,'  for  '  edifying,'  in 
I  Tim.  I.  4 J  ■'^  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,'  for  '  hath  not 
the  Son,'  in  i  John  5.  12  ;  and  -which  was  a  Jewess,' 
for  '  which  was  a  Jew,*  in  Acts  24.  24,  are  interesting  ; 
as  well  as  the  wholesale  fashion  in  which  proper  names 
have  been  dealt  with.  In  the  New  Testament,  for  example, 
we  have  Apollos  for  Apollo.;  Stephen  for  Steven  ;  Moses 
for  Moyses  ;  Cain  for  Kain  ;  Nain  for  Naim  ;  Jerusalem 
for  Hierusalemj   Jericho  for  Hiericho  ;   and  many  others. 


HELPFUL   CHANGES  205 

In  his  Cambridge  Paragraph  Bible,  Scrivener  himself 
introduced  some  further  emendations  of  his  own,  prin- 
cipally in  the  Apocrypha,  which  was  the  least  well  done 
section  in  161 1 .  Among  other  changes  he  gives  '  mercy's 
'  sake  '  for  *  mercies'  sake  '  in  three  passages  in  the 
Psalms  ^  *  strain  out  a  gnat  '  for  '  strain  at  a  gnat,'  in 
Matt.  23.  24,  following  in  this  the  versions  of  the  English 
Bible  prior  to  the  Authorized  Version  ;  '  ye  believe  not  ' 
for  '  ye  believed  not,'  in  John  10.  25  ;  and  '  hope  '  for 
'  faith  '  in  Hebrews  10.  23. 

In  more  recent  times,  various  unauthorized  revisions 
of  a  different  sort  have  frequently  appeared,  such  as 
Weymouth's  Version  of  the  New  Testament  in  Modern 
Speech,  and  the  translations  which  accompany  many 
of  our  modern  commentaries.  Not  a  few  of  these  have 
been  of  great  service  to  the  cause  of  Bible  Study,  and 
have  helped  to  bring  their  readers  nearer  than  ever  to 
the  inexhaustible  fullness  of  the  Divine  Word. 


Chapter  II 

THE       INCEPTION     AND      PREPARATION     OF    THE 
REVISED  VERSION 


207 


'The  Bible  is  like  an  ever-flowing  fountain.  Take  what  we  will,  and 
as  much  as  we  will,  we  ever  leave  more  than  we  take  to  satisfy  the  wants 
of  others.  Neither  the  writers  nor  the  thinkers  of  any  one  age  can  exhaust 
its  fullness.  The  books  of  men  have  their  day,  and  then  grow  obsolete. 
God's  Word  is  like  Himself,  "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever." 
Time  passes  over  it,  but  it  ages  not.  Its  power  is  as  fresh  as  if  God 
spake  it  but  yesterday.'— Dk.  Payne  Smith. 


Chapter  II 

THE    INCEPTION    AND    PREPARATION    OF    THE 
REVISED    VERSION 

FROM  the  first,  as  has  just  been  shown,  unauthorized 
revision  of  the  Authorized  Version  had  been  going 
on,  and  on  the  whole  with  advantage  to  the  readers  of 
the  Word.  Even  those  who  denounced  a  practice  which 
at  first  sight  seems  so  improper,  were  silenced  when  the 
Oxford  reprint  of  1833  showed  what  had  actually  been 
achieved.  Within  thirty-four  years  of  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  Authorized  Version,  a  definite  revision  of 
it  had  been  suggested  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  but 
it  was  soon  found  out  that  nothing  better  could  be  hoped 
for,  then  at  any  rate.  From  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  however,  the  minds  of  many  scholars  were 
turned  to  some  systematic  revision,  and  various  partial 
private  translations  were  actually  made,  with  varying  suc- 
cess, by  several  scholars.  As  the  century  wore  on,  the 
desire  for  a  Revised  Version  deepened  ;  and  early  in  the 
year  1856  motions  in  favour  of  such  an  undertaking  were 
made  both  in  Parliament  and  in  Convocation.  Nothing 
came  of  these,  however,  except  in  so  far  as  they  turned 
men's  minds  to  the  possibilities  of  the  situation.  The 
romantic  discovery  of  the  great  Codex  Sinaiticus  at 
Mount  Sinai,  by  Tischendorf,  naturally  quickened  the 
movement,  ana  increased  the  desire  of  many  to  set  about 
the  work  of  revision  at  once  in  a  worthy  fashion  ;  in 
order  that  the  whole  community  might  be  able  to  walk 
in   the    fuller   light    of   modem   discovery   and    scholarly 

attainments. 

P  209 


2IO  THE  REVISED    VERSION 

It  was  not  that  any  responsible  scholars  thought  that  the 
Authorized  Version  was  seriously  inaccurate  or  mislead- 
ing, but  that  many  believed  that  it  might  be  made  even 
more  perfect  than  it  was  ;  and  they  knew  that  no  changes 
which  were  made  on  the  authority  of  the  new  manuscripts, 
or  as  the  result  of  modern  research,  could  possibly  im- 
peril the  faith,  or  indeed  have  any  bearing  on  any  of 
the  primary  truths  of  the  Gospel.  They  reminded  the 
nation  of  the  significant  fact  that  not  one  of  the  great 
Codices  had  been  available  in  1 6 1 1  ;  and  insisted  that 
it  was  the  bounden  duty  of  modern  scholarship  to  put  the 
ordinary  English  reader  as  nearly  as  possible  on  a  level 
with  the  reader  of  the  original  tongues.  Nor  would  they 
admit  that  this  could  be  sufficiently  or  effectively  done 
by  any  such  device  as  footnotes.  Some  of  those,  indeed, 
who  were  forward  to  acknowledge  the  incomparable  merits 
and  charm  of  the  Authorized  Version  were  convinced  that 
it  was  only  by  wise  and  reverent  revision  that  it  could 
assimilate  the  new  treasures  which  God  in  His  providence 
had  brought  to  light  since  the  days  of  King  James. 

It  was  not,  however,  till  February,  1870,  that  definite 
action  was  taken.  It  was  then  agreed  by  the  Convocation 
of  Canterbury,  on  the  motion  of  Bishop  W^ilberforce,  to 
appoint  a  Committee  to  report  on  the  desirableness  of 
a  revision  of  the  Authorized  Version,  whether  by  mar- 
ginal notes  or  otherwise.  This  Committee  reported  in 
May  of  the  same  year,  and  it  was  then  decided  '  that 
'  Convocation  should  nominate  a  body  of  its  own  mem- 
'  bers  to  undertake  the  work  of  revision,  who  shall  be 
*  at  liberty  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  any  eminent 
'  for  scholarship  to  whatever  nation  or  religious  body 
'they  belong.'  Soon  thereafter  two  Companies  were 
appointed  for  the  revision  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
respectively . 

The  chairman  of  the  Old  Testament  Company  was 
Dr.  Harold  Browne,  Bishop  of  Winchester  ;  while  Dr. 
Ellicott,  Bishop  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol,  presided  over 
the  New  Testament  Company.  Over  sixty  scholars  took 
part  in  the  work,  a  larger  number  than  had  ever  engaged 
in  such  work  before.  They  were  not  only  repre- 
sentative   of    the    best    scholarship    of    their    time,    and 


J^EVISERS'  INSTRUCTIONS  211 

abundantly  qualified  for  their  work  ;  they  were  repre- 
sentative of  all  shades  of  theological  opinion,  Baptist 
and  Methodist  sitting  side  by  side  with  Episcopalian  and 
Presbyterian  in  an  altogether  unique  fashion.  Not  only 
was  the  flower  of  English  scholarship  to  be  found  among 
the  Revisers  :  Scotland  was  represented  by  no  fewer  than 
thirteen  of  her  most  distinguished  Biblical  students,  and 
had  thus  an  opportunity  of  at  last  removing  the  old 
reproach  that  she  had  done  nothing  worthy  of  herself  and 
her  religious  yearnings  in  the  department  of  Bible  trans- 
lation into  the  vernacular.  American  scholars,  too,  were 
in  active  co-operation  with  their  brethren  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  took  no  small  share  in  the  proceed- 
ings. Their  colleagues  in  their  Preface  bear  testimony 
to  the  *  care,  vigilance,  and  accuracy  '  of  their  fellow- 
labourers  across  the  seas.  The  work  of  the  American 
Revisers  was,  indeed,  so  important,  and  has  led  to  such 
developments,  as  to  call  for  consideration  by  itself. 

The  instructions  of  the  Revisers  were  that  they  should 
introduce  as  few  alterations  as  possible  into  the  text  of 
the  Authorized  Version  consistently  with  faithfulness  ;  and 
limit,  as  far  as  possible,  the  expression  of  such  alterations 
to  the  language  of  the  Authorized  and  earlier  English 
Versions.  No  change  was  to  be  made  or  retained  in 
the  text  on  the  final  revision  by  either  Company,  unless 
two -thirds  of  those  present  approved  of  it  ;  and  probably 
this  rule  was  responsible  for  some  of  the  results  to  which 
most  exception  has  been  taken.  There  are  many  indica- 
tions, for  example,  that  the  needful  two -thirds  majority 
for  changes  was  much  more  difficult  to  attain  in  the 
Old  Testament  Company  than  in  the  New  ;  a  fact  which 
makes  the  marginal  notes  of  the  Old  Testament  of  special 
importance . 

The  Revisers  began  their  work  in  June,  1870  ;  their 
New  Testament  appeared  in  1881,  and  their  complete 
work  in  1885.  That  they  did  their  work  well,  will  be 
admitted  not  only  by  those  who  think  the  revision  of  the 
New  Testament  too  revolutionary  or  that  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment too  conservative,  but  even  by  those  who  think  that 
the  Old  Testament  Revisers  were  too  revolutionary  or 
those   of  the   New  Testament  too   conservative.      What- 


212  THE  REVISED    VERSION 

ever  may  be  the  ultimate  fate  of  what  they  did,  and 
whatever  may  be  thought  of  its  value  and  significance, 
or  of  the  relative  value  of  the  work  done  by  the  respective 
Companies,  what  they  accomplished  is  entitled  to  the 
respect  due  to  an  earnest  and  loyal  attempt  to  get  nearer 
the  exact  meaning  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  and  to 
present  to  the  English-speaking  peoples  the  approved 
results  of  textual  criticism,  of  the  discovery  of  formerly 
unknown  manuscripts  and  versions,  and  of  a  fuller 
acquaintance    with    the    sacred   languages. 

Among  the  arguments  which  had  been  urged  on  behalf 
of  this  revision  being  undertaken,  there  were  some  which 
could  not  be  readily  set  aside.  It  was  pointed  out  that 
apart  altogether  from  the  progress  made  by  scholarship 
and  Comparative  Philology,  there  were  some  two  hundred 
words  in  the  Authorized  Version  which  had  changed  their 
meaning  since  1 6 1 1,  and  others  which  no  ordinary  reader 
could  understand  ;  and  that  there  were  even  phrases  which 
tended  to  give  a  wrong  turn  to  the  meaning  unless  there 
was  much  care  and  considerable  knowledge.  It  was  also 
pointed  out  that,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  as 
concerning  God's  revelation  of  Himself  and  His  purpose 
of  grace  to  men  which  the  best  men  have,  the  fullest 
light,  the  most  accurate  information,  the  most  thorough- 
going research,  must  be  devoted  to  the  work  of  making 
the  vernacular  Scriptures  as  accurate  and  luminous  as 
possible.  It  was  also  undeniable  that  textual  criticism  as 
applied  to  the  Greek  New  Testament,  more  especially 
through  the  discovery  of  the  new  codices  and  the  labours 
of  a  succession  of  great  scholars,  had  resulted  in  the 
construction  of  a  more  accurate  Greek  Testament  than 
was  available  in  1 6 1 1 .  On  the  side  of  the  Old  Testament, 
too,  it  was  equally  undeniable  that  Hebrew  scholarship 
had  made  conspicuous  advances  in  modern  times. 

As  regards  the  results  of  the  Revision,  considerable 
changes  were  made  both  on  the  text  and  on  its  external 
form,  as  presented  to  English  readers.  The  old 
divisions  into  chapters  and  verses  were  noted  only  in 
the  margin,  and  the  text  was  printed  in  paragraphs  like 
an  ordinary  book.  The  old  chapter -headings  were  left 
out  altogether.     In  the  text  itself  the  number  of  variations 


ALTERATIONS  IN  THE   TEXT  213 

in  the  New  Testament  from  the  Authorized  Version  was 
between  thirty-five  and  thirty-six  thousand.  There  were 
over  five  thousand  variations  from  the  Greek  Text  of 
161 1.  Many  felt  that  there  might  have  been  fewer 
alterations  without  sacrifice  of  accuracy  ;  while  some 
of  those  made  were  greatly  resented — such  as  the 
omission  of  the  Doxology  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the 
new  form  of  words  so  familiar  as,  '  On  earth  peace,  good 
*  will  toward  men.*  But  the  Revisers  had  to  be  loyal 
to  the  text  which  had  approved  itself  to  them.  They  also 
claimed  that  what  had  been  lost  in  style  by  rendering 
the  same  Greek  words  throughout  by  the  same  English 
words  was  gained  in  accuracy,  which  is  even  more 
important. 

Fewer  changes  were  made  in  the  Old  Testament.  In 
Job,  which  is  the  most  difficult  of  the  Old  Testament 
books,  there  were  only  1,389  alterations  ;  while  in  the 
book  of  Jeremiah  there  were  1,278  ;  and  in  the  book  of 
Psalms,  2,094.  This  was  probably  due  in  part  to  the- 
strong  feeling  which  had  been  shown  in  the  interval 
regarding  the  number  of  changes  in  the  New  Testament  ; 
but  it  was  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  there  were  no 
changes  in  the  Old  Testament  text  corresponding  to 
those  which  had  been  made  on  the  text  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. There  is  to  all  intents  only  one  text  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  our  Hebrew  Bible  is  practically  the  same 
as  that  in  use  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  The  New  Testa- 
ment Revisers  were  obliged  to  construct  a  Greek  text  which 
they  thereafter  translated  ;  but  the  Old  Testament  Revisers 
had  practically  to  confine  themselves  to  the  Masoretic 
text,  and  put  anything  of  value  from  the  Septuagint  and 
elsewhere  in  the  margin.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
alterations  on  the  Old  Testament  were  due,  not  to  textual 
changes,  but  to  an  increased  knowledge  of  Hebrew  and 
of  textual  criticism,  combined  with  a  more  thorough 
study  of  the  Septuagint  and  the  Targums,  together  with 
the  Vulgate  and  other  ancient  versions. 

The  changes  made  throughout  fall  into  four  classes, 
which  need  not  be  elaborated.  There  were  those  which 
arose  from  the  adoption  of  new  and  better  authenticated 
readings  in  the  original.     There  were  those  v/hich  were 


214  THE-  REVISED    VERSION 

the  result  of  the  original  having  previously  been  misunder- 
stood. There  were  those  due  to  the  disappearance  of 
obsolete  words.  And,  finally,  there  were  those  due  to 
the  application  of  the  ruling  principle  that  the  same 
words  in  the  original  should  be  consistently  represented 
by  the  same  English  words.  Whether  there  were  too 
many  or  too  few,  is  a  matter  of  opinion  or  of  feeling  ; 
but  no  one  can  study  those  which  were  made,  side  by 
side  with  the  Authorized  Version,  without  finding  that 
new  light  is  being  thrown  on  the  sacred  page,  and  that 
new  depths  are  being  discovered  in  the  Divine  Word. 


Chapter  III 
RECEPTION   AND   SUBSEQUENT   CAREER 


2x5 


The  Bible  is  like  a  wide  and  beautiful  landscape  seen  afar  off,  dim 
and  confused  ;  but  a  good  telescope  will  bring  it  near,  and  spread  out 
all  its  rocks,  and  trees,  and  flowers,  and  verdant  fields,  and  winding  rivers 
at  one's  very  feet.  That  telescope  is  the  Spirit's  teaching.' — Dr.  Thomas 
Chalmers. 


Chapter  III 
RECEPTION   AND   SUBSEQUENT   CAREER 

THE  interest  which  gathered  round  the  publication 
of  the  Revised  New  Testament  on  May  17,  1881, 
all  through  the  English-speaking  world,  was  altogether 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  publications.  Long  before 
it  appeared,  the  curiosity  and  anxiety  of  the  public  had 
been  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  ;  and  all  sorts  of  means, 
both  fair  and  foul,  had  been  employed  in  vain  in  order 
to  obtain  advance  copies.  The  most  elaborate  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  the  first  day's  sales  ;  but  although 
more  than  a  million  copies  had  been  issued  by  the  Oxford 
Press,  and  a  large,  although  smaller,  number  by  the  Cam- 
bridge Press,  that  was  quite  inadequate  to  supply  the 
demand.  One  London  bookseller  sold  fifteen  thousand 
copies  during  that  memorable  day,,;  and  altogether  some 
indication  was  given  of  the  place  which  the  Bible  still 
occupies  in  the  community.  As  soon  as  possible,  too,  it 
was  distributed  in  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

The  excitement  on  May  18,  1885,  when  the  complete 
Revised  Bible  was  sent  out,  was  not  nearly  so  great  as 
it  had  been  four  years  before  ;  but  the  interest  was  still 
very  great  and  widespread,  and  the  sale  was  enormous. 
One  writer  at  the  time  declared  that  no  one  could  any 
longer  say  that  religion  is  less  powerful  in  our  time  than 
it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Puritans.  If  we  may  judge  by 
the  ordinary  test  of  the  sales,  alike  of  the  Revised  Version 
and  the  Authorized,  the  English  Bible  is  still  immeasurably 
the  first  book  in  popular  esteem.  Such  sales  could  hardly 
continue  year  after  year  if  the  Scriptures  were  quite  as 
much  superseded  as  many  suggest  or  fear. 


2i8      RECEPTION  AND  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER 

It  is  probable  that  not  even  the  most  sanguine  admirers 
of  the  Revised  Version  expected  that  it  would  be  accepted 
at  once  and  on  all  hands  as  the  English  Bible,  and  be  raised 
to  the  supreme  place  occupied  so  long  by  the  Authorized 
Version.  To  begin  with,  there  was  the  ordinary  con- 
servatism of  human  nature  to  be  overcome,  although 
against  that  there  might  be  set  the  instinctive  love  of 
change,  and  the  faith  in  the  new,  which  characterize  so 
many.  Not  only  so  ;  but  this  was  no  case  where  the 
friends  of  the  old  were  obscurantists,  who  said,  '  The  old 
'is  better,'  or  'The  old  is  good.'  It  was  pre-eminently 
a  case  where  the  old  was  good,  and  where  it  had  become 
an  integral  part  of  the  life  of  the  nation  at  its  best. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  reception  which  has  been 
accorded  to  the  Revised  Version  has  been  very  mixed,  and 
probably  few  even  of  its  friends  are  now  sanguine  that 
it  will  ultimately  obtain  the  first  place  in  the  land.  The 
different  standard  set  up  by  the  two  Companies  has  not 
helped  matters.  Some  hold  that  if  the  New  Testament 
Company  had  been  as  conservative  as  the  Old,  there 
would  have  been  a  hearty  acceptance  of  their  joint  work. 
Others  hold  that  if  the  Old  Testament  Company  had  been 
as  courageous  as  the  New,  the  whole  would  have  com- 
mended itself  far  more  than  it  has  done.  The  fact, 
however,  remains  that  now,  after  the  New  Testament  has 
been  in  the  field  for  thirty  years  and  the  Old  Testa- 
ment for  twenty -six,  the  supremacy  of  the  Authorized 
Version  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been  seriously  shaken. 
The  sale  of  the  Revised  Version  has  been  steadily  but 
slowly  increasing  for  some  years  past,  and  it  clearly  has 
its  public  ;  but  the  University  Presses  still  issue  annually 
as  they  did  ten  years  ago,  fully  ten  times  as  many  of  the 
Authorized  Version  as  of  the  Revised.  And  it  has  to  be 
borne  in  mind  that  they  alone  issue  copies  of  the  Revised 
Version,  whereas  many  others  are  issuing  copies  of  the 
Authorized . 

In  1899,  Convocation  authorized  the  use  of  the  Revised 
Version  in  churches,  leaving  its  adoption  to  the  discretion 
of  the  clergy,  a  course  very  much  the  same  as  that 
adopted  by  the  Methodist  Churches,  and  a  folio  edition 
was   prepared   for   that   purpose.      W^ithin   recent   years. 


FRIENDLY  RIVALS  219 

too,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  who  for  long 
sold  only  the  Authorized  Version,  have  begun  to  sell 
the  Revised  Bible  in  three  editions,  in  addition  to  an 
edition  of  the  New  Testament  alone.  The  New  Testament 
is  sold  at  a  cost  of  fourpence,  and  the  cheapest  of  the 
Bibles  is  tenpence.  The  likelihood  therefore  is  that  the 
two  versions  will  go  on  their  way  side  by  side,  as  friendly 
rivals,  although  some  still  anticipate  that  the  Revised 
Version  will  sooner  or  later  come  into  general  use  as 
its    merits    are    recognized. 

It  is  interesting  at  this  juncture  to  compare  the  present 
state  of  affairs  with  the  expectation  of  Dr.  Scrivener, 
who  spent  such  loving  care  on  the  Authorized  Version 
and  its  subsequent  reprints,  and  modern  representatives. 
Writing  in  1884,  three  years,  that  is,  after  the  Revised 
New  Testament  had  appeared,  his  anticipation  was  that 
the  two  *  are  destined  to  run  together  a  race  of  generous 

*  and  friendly  rivalry  for  the  space  of  at  least  one  genera- 
'  tion,  before  the  elder  of  the  two  shall  be  superseded  in 
'  the  affections  of  not  a  few  devout  persons,  who,  in  so 
'  grave  a  matter  as  the  daily  use  of  Holy  Scripture,  shall 
'  prove  slow  to  adopt   changes  which  yet  they  will  not 

*  doubt  to  be  made,  on  the  whole,  for  the  better.'  The 
one  generation,  however,  has  come  and  gone,  and  there 
can  be  no  question  that  the  result  has  not  been  that  to 
which  the    great   scholar   thus   looked   forward. 

It  by  no  means  follows,  however,  that  the  work  of 
the  Revisers  has  been  in  any  sense  thrown  away,  even  if 
it  never  obtain  the  supremacy.  Both  versions  may  do  their 
best  work  side  by  side,  and  there  are  frequent  indications 
in  sermons  and  addresses  and  many  modern  writings  that 
the  Revised  Version  is  being  largely  used  for  private 
study,  even  by  those  who  still  cling  fondly  to  the 
Authorized,  and  will  never  consent  to  let  it  go.  Probably 
the  vast  majority  of  those  who  know  the  facts  would 
assent  to  Dr.  Sanday's  claim  for  the  work  of  the  Revisers, 
that  '  adventitious  growths  which  in  the  course  of  cen- 
'  turies  had  found  a  place  in  the  very  imperfect  text 
'  used  by  the  old  translators  have  been  removed  ;  true 
'  readings  substituted  for  false,  and  probable  readings 
'  at  least  placed  alongside  those  that  are  doubtful.     The 


220      RECEPTION  AND  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER 

*  meaning    of    the    original    has    been    more    accurately 

*  rendered.     Much  that  used  to  be  obscure  has  now  been 

*  made  plain,  and  that  which  was  comparatively  plain 
'  has  been  made  plainer.  Many  a  fine  shade  of  thought 
'  has    been    brought    out,    which    would    otherwise    have 

*  passed  unnoticed.'  The  only  question,  Dr.  Sanday  holds, 
is  to  what  extent  and  whether  the  gain  may  not,  in  some 
greater  or  less  degree,  be  accompanied  with  loss.  It 
is  quite  possible,  however,  that  readers  may  be  ready  to 
acknowledge  that,  especially  in  the  Prophets  and  the 
Epistles,  the  gain  far  exceeds  the  loss,  and  be  anxious 
to  avail  themselves  of  all  the  gain,  especially  in  their 
private  study,  and  yet  be  altogether  unwilling  to  see 
the  Authorized  Version  follow  the  Geneva  version  into 
the  limbo  of  old  Bibles  which  have  now  no  more  than 
an  antiquarian  interest. 

It  may  be  noticed,  too,  that  there  are  scholars  who  hold 
that  the  Revisers  have  failed  to  such  an  extent  to  bring 
out  the  true  meaning  in  many  instances,  that  the  loss 
would  be  greater  than  the  gain  were  the  new  version 
to  replace  the  old.  One  of  these,  dealing  specially  with 
the  New  Testament,  in  the  pages  of  The  Expositor,  after 
giving  what  he  held  to  be  instances  where  there  had 
been  such  failure,  and  declaring  that  there  are  minor 
inaccuracies  on  every  page,  goes  on  to  say  :  '  The 
'  Authorized  Version,  it  is  true,  also  has  its  blemishes 
'and  imperfections-;    but  they  fade  almost  into  insigni- 

*  ficance  iri  comparison  with  the  serious  errors  of  the 
-  Revised.  The  Version  of  King  James's  translators  is 
'  more  true  to  the  genius  of  the  English  language,  and 

*  characterized  in  more  directions  than  one  by  more  pro- 
'  found  scholarship.     Until  both  Text  and  Translation  be 

*  made  much  more  perfect,  it  involves  much  less  wrong 

*  and  much  less  loss  to  the  Churches  to  retain  the  old 

*  Version.' 

Another  scholar,  also  in  the  pages  of  The  Ex- 
positor, subjects  the  work  done  by  the  Revisers  of 
the  Old  Testament  to  an  unfavourable  criticism.     '  The 

*  Hebrew  text  has  been  left  in  its  original  state  of 
'  questionable  integrity.  Obscure  passages  for  the  most 
'  part  remain  as  unintelligible  as  the  lover  of  "  that  sweet 


A    GREAT  ACHIEVEMENT  221 

word  Mesopotamia  "  can  desire.'     '  The  task  of  textual 

*  emendation  they  have  frankly  declined.  Palpable  mis- 
'  readings  remain.'  '  The  timorous  conservatism  of  their 
'  Old  Testament  will  vex  those  who  desired  a  translation 
'  on  a  level  with  modern  erudition.  Their  pigeon - 
'  Jacobean  diction,  in  both  Old  Testament  and  New,  will 
'  always  provoke  disparaging  comparison  with  the  easy 
'rhythm  of  our  great  English  classic.  The  one  per- 
'  manently  valuable  outcome  of  this  singular  episode  in 

*  the  history  of  literature  is  Westcott  and  Hort's  Greek 
'  Testament    text,    which    is    recognized    by    Continental 

*  critics  as  a  credit  to  English  scholarship.'  '  We,  of 
'  course,  take  no  notice  of  its  side -notes,  which  we  cannot 

*  allow   to   discount   the    final    decision  the   Revisers   lay 

*  before  the  public  in  their  text.  By  that  they  must 
'  stand  or  fall.'  '  The  Revised  Version  does  not  represent 
'  unbiassed  Hebrew  scholarship.' 

The  reception  given  to  the  Revised  Version  has  thus 
been  somewhat  mixed,  alike  on  the  part  of  scholars  and 
the  general  public  ;  but  it  would  be  a  poor  compliment 
to  the  Authorized  Version  to  resent  the  presence  of  the 
Revised  Version,  or  to  seek  in  any  way  to  limit  its 
sphere  of  influence.  It  is  a  great  achievement  of  British, 
and  American  scholarship,  and  a  valuable  commentary  ; 
and  all  Bible  students  should  use  the  two  versions  side 
by  side.  The  Old  Testament  marginal  notes  are  of 
undoubted  value,  and  it  is  well  at  times  that  men's  minds 
should  be  taken  past  any  and  every  form  of  words,  even 
the  most  venerable,  to  the  Word  itself.  The  Holy  Scrip- 
tures must  never  be  identified  with  any  version,  even 
the  best.  On  the  other  hand,  even  in  view  of  all  the 
Revised  Version  has  achieved  in  the  matter  of  precision 
as  regards  the  true  force  of  tenses  and  compound  verbs, 
and  the  distinctive  sense  of  prepositions  ;  as  well  as 
in  the  fidelity  with  which  it  exhibits  new  shades  of 
meaning,  there  is  no  obscurantism  in  expressing  the  wish 
that  it  will  never  supersede  the  Authorized  Version,  but 
that  the  two  streams  will  continue  long  to  flow  on  side  by 
side  as  they  are  doing  now,  to  the  advantage  of  those  who 
study  the  Record  of  the  Divine  Revelation  in  the  history 
of  men. 


Chapter  IV 
AMERICA  AND   THE   WORK  OF   REVISION 


223 


Thy  Word  is  a  lamp    unto    my  feet,   and  a  light   unto  my  path.'- 
PSALM  119.  105. 


Chapter  IV 
AMERICA    AND    THE    WORK    OF    REVISION 

THE  first  American  edition  of  the  Authorized  Version 
seems  to  have  been  issued  in  the  year  1782.  Until 
then  the  monopolists  at  home  had  been  able  to  prevent 
any  infringement  of  their  privileges  on  the  part  of  the 
New  England  printers.  After  the  establishment  of  the 
Republic,  however,  anyone  who  chose  to  do  so  was  at 
liberty  to  print  Bibles  ;  the  result  being,  as  a  Committee 
of  theirs  discovered,  that  the  lack  of  supervision  led  to 
even   greater  variations   than  in  the  homeland. 

From  1847  till  1851  an  American  Committee  of  seven 
scholars  were  engaged  in  an  attempt  at  revision,  which 
was  projected  by  the  American  Bible  Society,  but  with 
little  outcome.  The  fruits  of  their  labours  were  set  aside 
by  those  who  appointed  them  '  on  the  ground  of  alleged 
'  want  of  constitutional  authority,  and  popular  dissatis- 
'  faction  with  a  number  of  the  changes  made.'  The 
only  result  of  their  toil  remains  in  the  editions  of  the 
Bible  published  by  the  American  Bible  Society  since 
i860. 

When  our  Revised  Version  was  arranged  for  in  1870, 
American  scholars  were  invited  to  co-operate  with  the 
British  Revisers,  who  from  time  to  time  transmitted  to 
them  the  several  portions  of  their  work,  and  received 
from  them  in  return  their  criticism  and  suggestions.  Dr. 
Philip  Schaff,  of  New  York,  who  visited  this  country  in 
connection  with  the  work  in  1872,  was  President  of  the 
whole  American  Revision  Committee  ;  while  Dr.  William 
Henry  Green,  of  Princeton,  was  chairman  of  the  Old 
Testament  Company,  and  Dr.  Theodore  D.  Woolsey,  of 

Q  "5 


2  26     AMERICA   AND    THE    WORK  OF  REVISION 

Yale  College,  chairman  of  the  New  Testament  Company. 
,  Nowhere  was  the  excitement  over  the  appearance  of  the 
/  Revised  Version  greater  than  in  America.  It  was  the 
first  version  of  the  English  Bible  which  the  New  World 
had  helped  to  produce,  and  enormous  interest  was  taken 
in  it.  In  order  to  put  Chicago  on  a  level  with  New 
York,  a  Chicago  newspaper  actually  transmitted  the  four 
Gospels,  the  Acts,  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  by 
telegraph   on  the   morning  of  its  appearance. 

Effect  was  given  to  many  of  the  suggestions  which 
were  received  from  across  the  Atlantic,  and  various 
matters  regarding  which  perfect  agreement  could  not 
be  attained  were  printed  as  an  appendix.  With  all  their 
reverence  for  the  ancient  in  literature,  the  American  i 
scholars  naturally  felt  freer  to  introduce  changes  than  ' 
their  British  brethren  ;  and  in  the  year  1901  an  American 
Revised  Bible  was  issued,  which,  however,  is  not  allowed 
to  be  sold  in  Great  Britain,  in  deference  to  the  rights  of 
the  University  Presses  in  the  British  Revised  Version. 

In  connection  with  the  joint  labours  of  the  British  and 
American  Revisers,  it  had  been  agreed  that  the  British 
Companies  should  have  a  decisive  vote,  with  the  proviso 
that  during  a  period  of  fourteen  years  every  copy  of 
the  Revised  Bible  should  contain  the  appendices  with 
the  American  preferences.  On  their  part,  the  American 
Committee  pledged  themselves  that  for  the  same  period 
they  would  sanction  no  other  editions  of  the  Revised 
Version  than  those  issued  by  the  University  Presses  in 
England.  The  American  Companies,  unlike  their  British 
brethren,  continued  their  organization,  and  latterly  set 
themselves  to  prepare  and  publish  a  revision  of  their 
own,  which  accordingly  was  done  ten  years  ago  ;  Messrs. 
Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons  having  the  sole  right  of  issue. 

In  many  respects  this  American  Revision  goes  beyond 
merely  giving  effect  to  the  American  preferences  as  set 
forth  in  the  British  appendices.  Very  naturally,  being  no 
longer  trammelled,  they  have  incorporated  many  additional 
emendations  which  they  had  formerly  favoured  but  which 
they  did  not  insist  on  being  put  on  record  ;  as  well  as 
other  changes  which  they  deem  improvements.  They  have 
even  returned  in  some  instances  to  the  readings  of  the 


REVERENT  AND   SCHOLARLY  227 

Authorized  Version,  which  they  considered  had  been  need- 
lessly abandoned,  sometimes  to  the  injury  of  the  sense 
as  well  as  of  the  sound.  The  paragraph  divisions  were 
revised,  grammar  and  punctuation  were  dealt  with  in 
order  to  make  them  conform  more  to  modern  usage, 
column-headings  were  re -introduced,  and  some  parallel 
references  were  added  in  the  margin,  while  slight  changes 
were  made  in  the  form  of  the  titles  of  some  of  the  books. 
The  changes  made  in  the  New  Testament  are  neither 
numerous  nor  important.  The  rendering  of  the  coins 
which  are  mentioned  has  been  altered,  and  a  few  archaisms 
have  been  discarded  ;  but  there  are  many  alterations  in 
the  Old  Testament.^  We  find  'Jehovah  '  substituted  for 
'  Lord  '  and  *  God  '  on  the  ground  that  a  Jewish  super- 
stition ought  no  longer  to  dominate  the  English  or  any 
other  version  ;    while  '  sheol  '  appears  uniformly  for  '  the 

*  grave,'   '  the  pit,'  and  '  hell.'     The  use  of  '  shall  '  and 

*  will,'  and  other  matters  of  the  same  sort,  have  also 
been  dealt  with.  Very  many  of  the  alterations  made 
appeared  to  be  demanded  by  consistency.  '  Justice  '  had 
already  been  substituted  for  '  judgement,'  and  for  the  same 
reason  '  ordinance  '  has  now  been  substituted  for  '  judge- 
ment '  where  the  word  denotes  not  a  judicial  sentence, 
threatened  or  inflicted,  but  a  law  of  action.  It  is 
also  claimed  that  the  distinction  between  '  stranger,' 
'  foreigner,'  and  '  sojourner  '  has  now  been  made  con- 
sistently manifest.  Nearly  five -sixths  of  the  references 
in  the  margin  of  our  Revision  to  the  readings  of  the 
ancient  versions  have  been  removed,  on  the  ground  that 
though  the  date  of  these  is  more  ancient  than  any  extant 
manuscript  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  they  are  all  translations 
from  the  Hebrew,  and  there  is  no  means  of  verifying  the 
text  from  which  they  were  made. 

It  still  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  American 
Revised  Version  will  fare  any  better  than  ours  ;  but  few 
who  know  it  will  deny  that  it  is  a  reverent  and  scholarly 
effort  to  bring  its  readers  more  closely  into  contact  with 
the  exact  thought  of  the  sacred  writers.  It  is  as  worthy 
of  our  grateful  admiration  as  any  of  its  predecessors  in 
the  old  country. 


CONCLUSION 


329 


'  What   shall   it   profit   a  man   if   he  shall  gain  a  telescope  and  lose  his 
sight  ? ' — JOWETT. 


CONCLUSION 

IN  the  foregoing  chapters  we  have  seen  something  of 
the  history  of  the  Authorized  Version,  as  well  as 
something  of  the  previous  translations  to  which  it  served 
itself  heir,  and  of  which  it  was  the  glorious  fruit.  We 
have  also  seen  something  of  the  translation  which  in  our 
own  time  has  taken  its  place  alongside  of  it,  to  be  its 
friend  and  fellow -worker  in  bringing  men  and  women 
ever  nearer  the  very  mind  of  God.  And  clearly,  in 
view  of  all  we  have  seen,  it  would  be  a  blunder  to 
think  of  our  Authorized  Version  as  merely  one  trans- 
lation out  of  many.  To  all  intents  and  purposes  it  is 
the  English  Bible  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  As 
one  of  the  Revisers  put  it,  it  can  only  be  superseded 
in  that  sphere  of  fuller  truth  where  we  shall  know  even 
as  we  are  known. 

It  is  indeed  an  inspiring  story  which  we  have  been 
tracing.  It  matters  not  where  we  look,  it  tells  of  mighty 
men  of  God  whose  work  endures  and  cannot  but  endure. 
In  the  far  past  there  were  workers  like  the  truly  royal 
Alfred,  who  sought  to  make  the  law  of  the  Lord  the  law 
of  the  land,  and  to  found  his  government  on  the  Divine 
Word  ;  and  ^Ifric  the  Archbishop,  who  nearly  a  thousand 
years  ago  wrote  words  which  are  as  applicable  now  as 
they  were  then  :   '  Happy  is  he,  then,  who  reads  the  Scrip - 

*  tures,  if  he  convert  the  words  into  actions.     The  whole 

*  of  the  Scriptures  are  written  for  our  salvation,  and  by 
'  them  we  obtain  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.'  As  for  John 
Wiclif  and  William  Tyndale,  words  cannot  set  forth  all 
we  owe  to  them.  Wiclif  was  indeed  the  Doctor 
Evangelicus  : 

For  Christe's  love  and  His  apostles  twelve, 
He  taught — and  first  he  fohvede  it  himselve. 
331 


232  CONCLUSION 

To  Tyndale,  primus  inter  pares,  we  are  indebted  most 
of  all.  His  piety,  learning,  and  courage,  all  led  on  to 
the  great  Divine  end  which  he  attained  ;  and  he  builded 
better  than  he  knew.  A  Scots  philosopher  has  said  that 
all  philosophy  since  is  just  Plato  rightly  understood,  and 
every  new  translation  of  the  English  Bible  since  has  just 
been  the  principles  of  Tyndale  more  thoroughly  applied 
in  fuller  knowledge  and  clearer  light.  And  what  shall 
we  say  of  Caxton,  who  laid  his  printing  press  on  the 
altar,  and,  through  his  amended  Golden  Legend,  made 
England  familiar  with  the  Word  of  God  ;  of  Thomas 
Cromwell,  who  used  his  great  position  and  ran  the  risk 
of  the  despot's  wrath  by  encouraging  one  translator 
after  another  to  pursue  his  work  ;  or  of  Miles  Coverdale, 
the  self-effacing  man  of  God,  who  was  ready  to  serve  in 
any  way  if  only  Christ  and  His  Gospel  might  be  made 
known  ?  As  for  later  days,  time  would  fail  us  to  tell  of 
the  wisdom  and  perseverance  of  those  who  in  happier  times 
made  use  of  their  scholarly  repose  and  growing  light 
to  dedicate  their  all  to  the  spread  of  the  Word,  which 
alone  can  scatter  the  world's  darkness  and  win  men  for 
God.  The  Authorized  Version  does  not  gather  round 
one  man's  name,  as  most  of  its  predecessors  did  ;  but 
it  tells  of  the  dedication  of  great  gifts  and  acquirements, 
of  much  good  sense  and  foresight  and  co-operation,  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  well-being  of  men. 

Nor  should  the  consecrated  labours  of  the  unknown 
copyists  of  earlier  times  or  of  equally  unknown  printers 
and  binders  of  later  days  be  altogether  overlooked. 
Many  of  them,  who  were  only  tradesmen,  entered  on  their 
work  in  the  spirit  of  a  profession,  and  their  names  are 
written  in  the  Book  of  Life.  Purvey  had  it  long  ago  that 
'  a  translator  hath  great  need  to  study  well  the  sense  both 

*  before  and  after,  and  then  also  he  hath  need  to  live 

*  a  clean  life,  and  be  full  devout  in  prayers,  and  have 

*  not  his  wit  occupied  about  worldly  things  that  the  Holy 
'  Spirit,  author  of  all  wisdom  and  cunning  and  truth, 
'  dress  him  for  his  work  and  suffer  him  not  to  err  '  ;  and 
so  it  has  been  that  a  great  multitude  have  laboured 
for  us  in  the  Lord  in  wisdom  and  cleanness,  and  we  have 
entered  into  their  labours,  that  they  without  us  should 
not   be   made   perfect. 


THE    WORD   OF  THE  LIVING   GOD  233 

The  entire  record  shows  how  confident  believers  in 
God  and  His  precious  Word  may  be  that  no  change  or 
discovery  can  touch  the  foundations  of  their  faith,  or 
afifect  His  revelation  of  grace.  Those  who  tremble  for 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  must  be  singularly  deaf  to  what 
history  is  saying  to  them.  All  the  changes  which  have 
been  made  since  Wiclif's  version  first  saw  the  light  have 
left  it  not  only  unscathed  but  mightier  than  ever.  No 
doctrine  in  it  has  been  affected.  Its  general  bearing  is 
exactly  what  it  has  always  been.  No  book  can  stand 
investigation  as  the  Bible  can.  It  invites  inquiry  as 
no  other  writing  does.  Not  only  has  nothing  material 
been  touched  ;  the  record  has  shown  that  no  honest 
revision  can  touch  any  article  of  the  faith.  No  enemy  can 
prevail  against  it.  No  weapon  formed  against  it  can 
prosper.  It  is  the  anvil  which  has  worn  out  many  a 
hammer  ;  and  so  it  shall  ever  be,  for  it  is  the  Book  which 
fathoms  the  depths  and  satisfies  the  needs  of  the  heart 
of  man  as  only  the  Word  of  the  Living  God  can. 

In  a  very  striking  fashion,  too,  the  record  has  shown 
how  truly  the  Bible  is  a  book  made  to  be  translated. 
As  has  been  well  said,  the  Bible  of  all  books  loses  least 
of  its  force  and  dignity  and  beauty  by  being  translated 
into  other  languages  wherever  the  version  made  is  not 
erroneous.  One  version  may  excel  another  because  it 
is  more  expressive,  or  more  majestic,  or  more  Divinely 
simple  ;  but  in  every  worthy  version  the  Bible  contains 
the  sublimest  thoughts  expressed  in  plain  and  fitting 
words.  It  was  written  for  the  whole  world  at  first,  and  not 
for  any  single  nation  or  age  ;  and  although  its  thoughts 
are  higher  than  ordinary  thoughts,  they  are  not  so  because 
they  have  been  elaborated  by  the  working  of  abstraction 
or  reflection,  but  because  they  have  come  from  the  primal 
fountain  of  all  truth.  To  translate  the  Bible,  as  one  of 
the  Puritans  has  it,  is  to  draw  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit 
from  its  scabbard  ;  while  as  another  of  the  Puritans  put 
it,  the  fact  that  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  quote  from  the 
Septuagint,  even  where  it  differs  from  the  Hebrew, 
reminds  us  that  the  sense  of  Scripture  is  the  gold  and 
the  words  only  the  purse,  and  that  it  is  the  sense  we  must 
have  if  our  deepest  needs  are  to  be  fathomed  and  satisfied. 


234  CONCLUSION 

The  entire  record  is  one  of  self-sacrificing  devotion  to 
truth  and  duty,  and  not  a  few  of  those  who  have  done 
most  in  the  sacred  cause  have  had  to  adventure  their 
liberty  and  their  life.  It  has  often  been  remarked  how 
many  of  the  workers  in  this  field  had  to  die  for  the 
truth  ;  but  it  is  by  these  things  that  men  live  :  and  the 
heroic  story  ought  to  be  far  better  known  than  it  is,  that 
it  may  quicken  and  encourage  those  who  are  following 
after.  In  these  days  of  the  Tercentenary  there  ought  to 
be  a  fresh  sense  of  gratitude  to  the  long  line  of  workers 
who  gave  us  of  their  best,  and  to  whom  we  owe  so  much. 
It  is  a  very  precious  inheritance  which  they  have  handed 
on  to  us,  and  it  involves  vast  responsibilities.  There  is 
always  the  danger  that  what  was  sought  for  and  greatly 
prized  when  it  cost  much,  and  could  only  be  attained 
through  great  daring,  may  be  neglected  when  it  is  offered 
freely  and  can  be  had  for  nothing.  '  He  hath  not  dealt 
'  so  with  any  nation  '  ;  and  those  who  wish  our  public 
and  private  life  as  a  people  to  be  clean  ;  those  who 
wish  to  preserve  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
purity  of  the  home  ;  and  those  who  wish  to  maintain 
'  the  integrity  of  the  Empire  as  great  and  free,  should 
all  make  much  of  our  English  Bible,  and  do  everything 
they  can  to  induce  others  to  do  the  same.  In  that  way 
alone  can  the  nation  be  saved  from  social  unrest  and 
industrial  dispeace  and  bound  together  in  a  helpful 
unity. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  there  is  too  great  a  tendency  to 
read  about  the  Bible,  instead  of  reading  the  Bible  itself. 
But  it  is  round  the  Word  itself  that  the  promises  gather. 
It  is  the  Word  itself  that  is  seed,  the  engrafted  Word 
which  is  able  to  save  the  soul.  It  is  in  the  Word  itself 
that  the  Divine  power  inheres.  No  number  of  magazine 
articles,  no  matter  how  interesting  they  may  be,  or  how- 
ever artistically  illustrated,  can  serve  as  Bible  substitutes  ; 
nor  can  any  religious  stories,  no  matter  how  natural 
their  characters  or  well -pointed  their  moral,  take  the 
place  of  the  actual  study  of  the  Word  of  God  itself  as  set 
forth  in  the  Scriptures.  Alike  in  the  home  and  the  school 
and  the  church,  everything  ought  to  be  done  to  encourage 
systematic  study  of  the  Bible  ;    and  that  not  as  a  task, 


THE    TESTIMONY  OF  THE   SPIRIT  235 

but  as  a  delight.  Nothing  will  go  very  far  wrong  where 
the  Living  Word  is  read  and  honoured  ;  but  without  that, 
nothing  else  will  very  much  avail.  Loyalty  to  the 
Authorized  Version  has  no  meaning  unless  it  be  read 
and  obeyed.  The  desire  to  be  up-to-date  and  in  touch 
with  the  latest  revision  and  the  latest  results  is  no  better 
than  a  fad,  if  it  expends  itself  in  discussion  about  tenses 
or  chapter-headings  or  the  removal  of  archaic  phrases 
and  obsolete  words.  Not  only  so,  but  there  should  be  far 
more  strenuous  insistence  on  and  practice  of  the  Reforma- 
tion doctrine  of  the  Testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He 
Who  gave  the  Word  at  first,  and  has  overruled  all  the 
translations  for  His  own  glory,  must  guide  us  into  the 
depths,  if  it  is  to  mean  for  us  all  it  ought  to 
mean.  We  only  know  in  practice  that  the  Bible  is  inspired 
when  it  inspires  us,  and  an  interest  in  the  Book  must 
not  be  mistaken  for  an  interest  in  the  Book's  Author. 

Daily  Bible  Readings  are  now  circulated  everywhere 
in  enormous  numbers,  and  doubtless  very  many  of  them 
are  loyally  read,  and  prayer  should  continually  be-  offered 
that  they  may  all  be  used  and  blessed.  As  for  such  a 
pledge  as  that  of  the  Christian  Endeavour  Societies,  that 
some  portion  of  the  Bible  will  be  read  every  day,  eternity 
alone  can  reveal  how  much  it  means.  The  most  admirable 
text -books,  too,  are  now  to  be  had,  which  throw  light 
on  the  Word  from  every  quarter,  and  the  best  of  them 
are  available  for  all  who  have  received  an  ordinary 
English  education.  The  most  useful  of  these  perhaps 
are  those  which  do  not  profess  to  do  more  than  deal 
with  the  text,  its  vocabulary  and  constructions,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  let  the  reader  know  exactly  what  the  sacred 
writers  said  and  meant,  and  leave  him  there.  Where 
that  is  done  without  prejudice  or  bias,  it  is  better  even 
than  the  '  without  note  or  comment  '  ideal,  which  has 
so  much  to  say  for  itself,  inasmuch  as  it  concentrates 
attention  on  Scripture  itself  and  not  on  any  human  ex- 
positor of  it.  Such  text -books,  whether  for  schools  and 
colleges  or  for  private  study,  ought  also  to  be  followed 
with  wistful  prayer  by  all  who  wish  to  see  the  Kingdom 
of  God  coming  in  the  midst. 

The  record  shows  that  there  have  been  ebbs  as  well  as 


2^6  CONCLUSION 

flows  in  the  popular  appreciation  of  the  Word.  When 
John  Lewis  wrote  his  History  of  the  Translations  of 
the  Bible,  in  1738,  he  was  very  much  discouraged  by 
the  way  in  which  the  Bible  was  then  neglected.  But  the 
Methodist  Revival  was  at  hand  to  exalt  the  Scriptures 
anew  ;  and  both  the  Universities  were  erelong  to  issue 
new  editions  of  the  Authorized  Version,  on  which  endless 
trouble  had  been  bestowed.  The  story  of  Mary  Jones,  too, 
whose  romantic  love  for  the  Bible  led  to  the  formation 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  shows  how  scarce 
Bibles  were  then,  even  in  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
But  once  again  Revival  was  at  hand,  and  God's  Word 
was  erelong  scattered  broadcast  over  the  land  as  it 
had  never  been  before.  There  is  always  a  tendency  in 
such  matters  to  think  of  the  former  days  as  better  than 
our  own  ;  but  there  has  probably  never  been  anything 
in  all  the  history  of  Bible  publication  to  equal  the  interest 
which  gathered  round  the  appearance  of  the  Revised 
Version  of  the  New  Testament,  only  thirty  years  ago. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  easy  to  harmonize  the  conviction  of 
many  that  the  Bible  is  neglected  as  it  was  not  formerly, 
with  the  fact  that  its  sale  is  so  great  and  is  steadily 
increasing.  A  merely  conventional  or  traditionary  sale 
would  soon  show  signs  of  exhaustion  and  decline. 

There  were  always  those  who  did  not  read  the  Bible, 
even  in  the  good  old  times.  At  the  very  time  when  the 
crowds  were  gathering  round  the  '  chained  Bibles,'  to 
hear  the  Word  read,  there  were  whole  districts  in  England, 
in  Cornwall  and  Devonshire  and  the  North  for  example, 
where  the  people  would  have  none  of  it.  It  is  probable 
that  only  a  minority  of  the  nation  then  desired  an  English 
version.     A  preacher  of  that  period  says,   '  How  merci- 

*  fully,   how  plentifully,   and   purely  hath   God   sent   His 

*  Word  to  us  here  in  England.  Again,  how  unthankfully, 
'  how  rebelliously,  how  carnally  and  unwillingly  do  we 
'  receive  it.'  Both  in  England  and  Scotland  there  were 
some  who  required  penal  enactments  and  royal  procla- 
mations to  induce  them  to  purchase  copies  of  the  Bible  ; 
and  what  was  bought  on  these  terms  would  probably 
not  be  very  gratefully  read.  It  is  true  that  these  edicts 
were  sometimes   in  favour  of  particular  versions  ;    but, 


LIVING  LIFE-GIVING    WATER  237 

then  as  now,  only  those  made  much  of  the  Bible  who 
were  anxious  to  know  God  and  His  way  of  salvation, 
and  to  discover  how  they  might  be  forgiven  and  delivered 
from  the  power  of  indwelling  sin.  In  any  case,  it  is 
certain  that  there  never  were  so  many  copies  of  the 
Scriptures  in  the  homes  and  the  hands  of  the  people  as 
there  are  now,  and  we  should  give  God  thanks  for  that, 
and  make  the  most  of  it. 

If  we  were  to  try  to  imagine  what  the  nation  would  be 
without  the  Bible,  we  would  have  a  new  sense  of  what 
it  has  done  and  is  still  doing  in  the  land.  One  of  the 
impressive  features  of  the  great  waterless  wastes  of 
Australia  is  the  terrible  silence  which  prevails.  There 
are  no  singing  birds  or  brawling  brooks,  no  rustling 
branches  or  sounds  of  beasts,  and  it  is  said  that  only 
those  who  have  been  through  it  can  have  any  conception 
of  what  it  means.  For  those  who  have  been  left  in  these 
solitudes  this  silence  becomes  an  all -pervading  horror 
which  has  driven  men  mad.  But  how  infinitely  more 
terrible  it  would  have  been  had  there  been  no  voice 
of  God  speaking  to  us  from  the  dim  unknown.  Strauss 
has  told  of  the  horror  which  overwhelmed  him  when 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  amid  all  the  voices  of 
earth  there  was  none  which  spoke  for  God  ;  yea,  that 
in  all  the  universe  there  was  no  God  who  could  speak 
to  men.  He  says  that  when  he  found  himself  a  helpless 
creature  amid  the  whirl  and  hiss  of  the  jagged  iron 
wheels  and  the  deafening  crash  of  the  ponderous  ham- 
mers, the  sense  of  abandonment  was  very  awful.  He 
was  looking  up  into  the  heavens,  in  the  imagery  of 
another  German,  and  seeing  only  an  empty  socket,  ghastly, 
silent,  and  mocking,  where  there  should  have  been  a 
Father's   eye. 

But  thanks  be  to  God,  this  is  not  a  silent  land,  a  land 
without  a  Bible,  and  it  is  a  tender  gracious  eye  which 
we  see  when  we  look  up  to  our  God.  The  well  is  deep, 
but  we  have  wherewith  to  draw  up  the  living  life-giving 
water.  The  English  Bible  is  still  fresh  and  mighty, 
even  if  it  has  archaic  or  obsolete  words.  It  has  waxed 
old,  but  it  has  not  decayed.  Its  youth  abides,  and  the 
sun  never  sets  on  its  sphere  of  influence.     Many  volumes 


238  CONCLUSION 

have  perished  since  it  first  saw  the  light  ;  but  its  message 
is  as  modern  as  ever.  It  has  not  only  kept  up-to-date, 
it  has  anticipated  every  need  of  men,  and  still  responds 
to  every  new  demand.  Blessed  are  they  that  walk  in 
the  light  of  it  ;  and  blessed  are  they  who  spread  its 
light .  '  They  shall  renew  their  strength  ;  they  shall 
'  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  ;  they  shall  run  and 
'  not  be  weary,  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint.' 


INDEX 


^LFRIC,  translation  by,  14,  231 

Alfred  the  Great,  translation  by, 
16,  231 

America  and  Revised  Version,  211, 
225  ;  early  attempts  at  revision, 
225 ;  preferences  and  appen- 
dices, 226  ;  Revised  Version  of 
1901,  226 

Apocrypha,  in  early  versions,  145  ; 
in  Authorized  Version,  90,  146  ; 
gradual  disappearance  from 
Authorized  Version,  146 ;  in 
Geneva  Bible,  146 ;  importance 
of,  147,  148  ;  poverty  of,  149 

Authorized  Version,  wonderful 
career,  3  ;  and  Revised  Version, 
6,  8,  119,  196 ;  reads  like  an 
original  work,  7 ;  revisers' 
tribute  to,  8 ;  dedication,  82  ; 
the  translators,  87  seq. ;  archaic 
element  in,  99 ;  no  partisan 
notes,  100 ;  marginal  notes  and 
references,  loi,  117,  129;  won- 
derful unity,  103  ;  preface,  109 
seq.  ;  opposition  to,  no  seq., 
154  seq. ;  revision  rather  than 
translation,  116;  first  editions, 
125,  127  ;  crown  monopoly  of 
printing,  126 ;  testimonies  to, 
131  seq.,  164,  183,  190  seq.  ;  its 
pure  English,  134 ;  in  what 
sense    authorized  ?     139    seq. ; 


working  its  way,  153  seq. ;  in 
Scotland,  157  ;  in  the  home, 
161  seq.  ;  in  the  church,  169 
seq. ;  in  the  nation,  177  seq.  ; 
in  English  language  and  litera- 
ture, 187  seq. ;  famous  editions 
of,  195  seq. ;  probable  future  of, 
219 
Autographs,  original  lost,  3 

Bagster's  editions,  196 

Barrie,   J.   M.,   and    his  mother's 

New  Testament,  164 
Bede's  St.  John,  15,  188 
Bible,  given   to  be  translated,  7, 

9,  170,  233  ;  and  freedom,  178  ; 

and  expansion  of   empire,  182, 

189  ;  and  philanthropy,  184 
Bishops'  Bible,  57,  72,  95,  139 
Blayney's  edition,  197 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 

219,  236 

Caedmon's  paraphrases,  13,  188 
Caxton's  work,  34,  232 
Cambridge       Paragraph       Bible, 

196 
"  Chained  Bibles,"  55,  236 
Constantinople,  fall  of,  36 
Complutensian  Polyglot,  38 
"  Cottar's  Saturday  Night,"  162 


240 


INDEX 


Coverdale's  Bible,  53, 104;  his  great 

services,  55,  105,  232 
Cranmer  and  translation  of  Bible, 

53 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  165,  179,  181 
Cromwell,  Thomas,  53,  232 

Daniel's  Bible,  Sir  Walter  Scott 

and,  195 
Dedication  of  Authorized  Version, 

82  seq. 
Dying,  the  Bible  and  the,  163. 

Ealdhelm's  Psalter,  14 

Egbert's  Gospels,  14 

English  Bible,  roll-call  of  workers, 

6  ;  versions  of,  53  seq. 
Erasmus,  Greek  New  Testament 

of,   37  seq.  ;  his  noble  ideal,  37  ; 

and  Tyndale,  37 
Errors  in  versions,  and  editions  of 

Authorized  Versions,   125,    126, 

195.  203 
Ezekiel's  vision,  4 

Family  Bible,  162 
Freedom,  the  Bible  and,  178 

Gasquet,    Father,    and    Wiclif, 

28 
Geneva  Bible,  56,  57,  67,  72,  153  ; 

influence  on  Authorized  Version, 

96,  104 
"Golden  Legend,"  34,  232 
Great  Bible,  55,  72,  105,  139 
Greek  language  in  the  West,  36 
Guthlac's  Psalter,  14 

Hampton  Court  Conference,  73, 

77,83,  in 
Harwood's  revision,  201 
Home,  Bible  in  the,  161  stq. 
Humanism,  37,  38 


Ignorance  of  Scriptures   among 

Romish  clerics,  28,  46 
"  Injunctions  "  to  clergy  (1536  and 

1538),  148 


James  I.  and  Puritans,  77 ;  at 
Hampton  Court  Conference,  78 ; 
and  Geneva  notes,  79,81 ;  James's 
zeal  for  new  translation,  79,  87, 
103,  III ;  his  admirable  arrange- 
ments, 79.  Himself  a  translator 
of  Scriptures,  80.  His  unworthy 
character,  81,  83 

James  II.  banishes  the  Bible,  180, 
181 


Language,  Authorized  Version  and 

English,  187  seq. 
Lechler  of  Leipzig,  19 
Lloyd's  edition,  197 
LoUardism,  great  influence  of,  24  ; 

in  Scotland,  64 


Mansfield,    Lord,    and    Crown 
monopoly     of     printing    Bible, 
126 
Matthew's  Bible,  54,  104,  139 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  and  Wiclif,  19, 
28 


New  Learning,  36,  38 

Nicholas  of  Hereford  and  Wiclif, 

26,  102 
Norman    Conquest  and   work   of 

translation,  17 


Original  autographs  lost,  3 
Oxford  Bibles,  196,  197 
Oxford    reprint    of     1833    (1611), 
202 


INDEX 


241 


Paris's  edition,  197 

"  Plenaria,"  17,  34 

Preface  to  Authorized  Version 
109  scq. 

Printing  and  vast  changes  it 
wrought,  33 ;  consecrated  to 
Divine  service,  34  ;  and  reforma- 
tion, 35 

Puritans  at  Hampton  Court,  78 ; 
and  Dedication,  84 ;  translators 
and, 232 

Purver  and  Wiclif,  26  ;  and  a  trans- 
lator's qualifications,  233 


Quotations  in  Scripture  from  the 
Fathers,  4 

Revision  of  Authorized  Version, 
demands  for,  209  seq. 

Revisers,  the  two  companies  of, 
210;  their  instructions,  211 

Revised  Version  and  Authorized 
Version,  6,  8  ;  changes  in,  213  ; 
its  publication,  217 ;  convocation 
and,  218  ;  sales  of,  218  ;  import- 
ance of,  219,  221  ;  criticism  of, 
220  seq. 

Revival,  the  Bible  and,  171,  174 

Rolle's  Psalter,  18 

Rogers,  John  (Matthew),  54 

Romish,  Church  and  Scripture,  17, 
28,  45,  46,  114;  versions  of 
English  Bible,  58 ;  and  their 
influence  on  Authorized  Version, 
95.  106 

Sale  of  Bibles,  in  early  times  35, 
48,  55.  57.  72  ;  in  modern  times, 
196,  2X8 

Sanday's  claims  for  Revised 
Version,  220 

Scotland,  and  Wiclif,  63  ;  Lollard- 
ism  in,  64 ;  Tyndale's  Version 
R 


in,    65  ;    first  Scots    Bible,  67 ; 

Authorized  Version  in,  157  ;  and 

Revised  Version,  211 
Scrivener,  and  Authorized  Version, 

88,  90,  129,    195,  203,  204  ;  and 

Revised  Version,  219 
Scriptures,  their    inherent  power, 

7  ;  mediaeval    ignorance  of,  28, 

46 
Sorrowing,  the  Bible  and  the,  163 


Taverner's  Bible,  54 

Tercentenary  of  Authorized  Ver- 
sion, 3,  4,  5,  234 

Testimonies  to  Authorized  Version, 
131  seq.,  190  seq. 

Toulouse,Council  of,  and  Scripture 

17 
Translations    into   vernacular 

throughout  Europe,  47 

Translators  of  Authorized  Version, 
87  seq. ;  their  great  learning,  87  ; 
their  remuneration,  88  ;  their 
industry,  91  ;  their  singular 
success,  92  ;  their  instructions, 
95  scq.  ;  their  ideal,  117 

Trent,  Council  of,  and  Apocrypha 
149  ;  and  Vulgate,  156 

Trevisa,  John  of,  18,  113 

Tyndale,  and  Erasmus,  37  ;  gave 
us  our  religious  vocabulary,  43  ; 
vast  influence  of  his  translation, 
44,  99,  104,  231  ;  his  great 
determination,  44 ;  his  scholar- 
ship, 47,  49 ;  editions  of  his 
translation,  48,  49,  50;  victory 
in  seeming  defeat,  50  ;  revision 
of  his  work,  54  seq.,  71  ;  on  duty 
to  revise,  201 

Unauthorized  changes,  125,  204 

seq. 
Ussher,  Archbishop,  19,  197 


242 


INDEX 


Variorum  Bible,  196 

Version,  ancient,    1 13  ;     English, 

53  s5?- 
Vulgate,  Jerome's,  26,  37,  58,  no 
129,  156 

Weymouth's  Version,  205 
Whitchurch  and  Great  Bible,  55, 
105 


Wiclif,  period  prior  to,  19  j  his 
widespread  influence,  24 ;  his 
translation,  26,  23 1  ;  and  English 
literature,  27,  188  ;  a  pioneer, 
28,  29  ;  and  revision,  72 

William  of  Shoreham's  Psalter,  18 

XiMENEs,  Complutensian  Poly- 
glot, 38,  39 


MORGAN   AND  SCOTT  LD.,  l.OXUON,  ENGLAND. 


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